In today's episode, we explore the fascinating intersection of professional wrestling and fashion through McKenzie Mitchell's brand new book, "Threads of Triumph", out April 7th 2026 and discover how wrestling gear shapes identity and storytelling in the ring.

In the world of professional wrestling, the gear worn by wrestlers is often as iconic as the athletes themselves. From the flamboyant robes of Ric Flair to the striking ensembles of modern stars, wrestling attire tells a story that goes beyond the ring. In this conversation, we'll delve into the insights shared by McKenzie Mitchell in her book "Threads of Triumph," which highlights the importance of fashion in wrestling and why it matters to fans and performers alike.

About McKenzie Mitchell:

McKenzie Mitchell is a recognized voice in the world of professional wrestling, currently with TNA Wrestling and known for her work as an announcer and commentator. With over a decade of experience in the industry, she brings a unique perspective to the often-overlooked aspect of wrestling: the attire. Her latest book, "Threads of Triumph," explores the intricate relationship between wrestling gear and the characters portrayed in the ring.

📕 Catch McKenzie Mitchell at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ on April 8th at 6:00 PM EST for an exclusive book signing!

📕 Pre order the book here for the book signing: https://www.book-ends.org/product/mckenzie-mitchell-book-ticket-photo-op-booksigning-ring-announcer-host-for-tna-wrestling-wed-april-8th-6pm-each-person-needs-a-book/2IHCX3MPQ6C2C5NFUTVPWOUI?cs=true&cst=custom

📕 Pre-Order The Book: https://bio.to/threadsoftriumphEnjoy!

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There's a reason why Hulk Hogan wore red and yellow and he kept that way because he knew

that it made sense.

2

But then you look at the varieties we talked about Chris Jericho, when we go, well, he's

got so many evolved looks over time.

3

Macho Man, Randy Savage going to Macho King all the way down to like, or even before Macho

King and wearing some of the gold robes.

4

one of the robes he had that I got to like touch, feel, look at was from the 1970s before

Michael Braun came away or came into the picture to where, Randy was at the end of his

5

career.

6

for me it was just who has done something that has.

7

really carved this path for the next generation to take and apply and make it their own.

8

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest for you today.

9

She's releasing her brand new book, Threads of Triumph on April 7th, Professional

Wrestling's most iconic looks.

10

And she's going to be doing a book signing in Ridgewood, New Jersey at Bookends on April

8th at 6 p.m.

11

She's been in TNA, she's been in WWE, she's been all over the map for over a decade in the

world of professional wrestling.

12

You've also seen her on her show Threads with Mackenzie Mitchell talking to all different

wrestlers about their gear, their seams and the world of professional wrestling.

13

You can catch her on TNA.

14

You can catch her on our interview today.

15

I'm so excited to introduce today's guest, Mackenzie Mitchell.

16

Thank you so much for making the time.

17

And I'm glad that you're here too.

18

And you have this book that you've just put out that we're going to talk all about today,

threads of triumph.

19

It, first off, we were talking about this before we went on and I'll pull up mine also.

20

This book, before we even get into the content, This book is one of the most aesthetically

pleasing books I've ever seen in my life in the world of pro wrestling.

21

It is absolutely gorgeous.

22

You see the legend Macho Man Randy Savage right here, and you have this beautiful lining

right here that matches the aesthetics.

23

amazing job just on the visuals first and foremost.

24

Thank you.

25

Well, you know, if I was writing a book about fashion and um perspective and wearing um

outfits that are really connecting to an audience, I had to make the book appealing.

26

It had to be a connection point somewhere.

27

So we really focused on the details of this book from, as you mentioned, Machimay and

Randy Savage on the cover in this iconic photo that he's got to the little details.

28

If you can see as you move the book up and down.

29

um

30

the text actually glitters to the side blocking on the side that has the glitter that

matches everything on the front.

31

So we really put love and attention and time into the details of this book.

32

em So I'm thankful that people are recognizing that and really taking a note of everything

that we've done to make it the piece that we wanted it to be.

33

The tagline of it is professional wrestling meets fashion.

34

And it's something that many times when I talk to people who come on the show, I say that

this is underrated or a lot of fans may not think of this element or that element.

35

That's not the case when it comes to the threads of pro wrestling.

36

I think all of us can think back to when we got into pro wrestling or even for the pro

wrestlers that we all know and love right now and think of our favorite wear

37

wrestlers are just doing all different kinds of things with their outfits what was the

importance on having a book that highlighted the threads of pro wrestling?

38

Well, you said it, we all have a moment, we all have a favorite, we all have a superstar

or a wrestler that has gear that they bring to the table that you're like, wow, I love

39

that.

40

I really think that that's cool and it connects to me in a deeper way.

41

But the conversation wasn't being had.

42

And I think that that's something that we've missed for a very, very long time is bringing

the conversation to light of the gear aspect, the appeal, the attire, what these people

43

are wearing and why we're connecting to it.

44

And so from

45

My perspective, I didn't grow up a professional wrestling fan, but I've been in the

industry for 10 years.

46

um

47

you know, as an announcer, a backstage interviewer, a commentator, whatever it is, ring

announcer.

48

um And I always say I have the best seat in the house, but I also see things from a

different perspective.

49

And so getting to see how much work and love and effort is put into the aspect of the gear

and how people are presenting themselves on a weekly basis.

50

wrestling's on 52 weeks a year.

51

And so you're having to come up with these crazy looks or something brand new or something

that feels fashion forward on a weekly basis.

52

And so I feel like people weren't the conversation the light that it deserves.

53

So for me, it was something that I found interesting, I found intriguing from a casual fan

to someone who's now, like I said, been in the industry for 10 years.

54

So I thought, why not just?

55

really highlight it and put that context behind, go deeper, give behind the scenes inside

baseball stories that have never been told before, and give wrestlers an opportunity to

56

showcase some of these hidden messages that may have been there throughout their favorite

moments or your favorite moments or whatever it is, but we never knew.

57

um

58

So I had this idea for six years and I really thought about it.

59

I conceptualized, I pitched it multiple places, it never got approved.

60

And then once I was released from the WWE in 2023, I said, you know what?

61

I'm just gonna try it on my own and we're gonna see what happens.

62

I did, started with threads with Mackenzie Mitchell.

63

And then ended up transitioning this into a different medium and threads of triumph

professional wrestling's most iconic looks.

64

And so it's been really cool to see the reception and to open this door of what could be

possible.

65

of professional wrestling being considered pop culture, being considered in the fashion

industry, being considered fashion icons.

66

uh I feel like this is only the beginning of what we're going to see.

67

And I love how you brought up in the book, not just the perspective from wrestlers who

you've got quotes from everybody in here, from talent to people in the offices, all where

68

you've gone to the gear makers.

69

And it's so cool to be able to read these stories.

70

Like you said, we haven't heard before.

71

Like one that stood out to me was again, going back to Macho Man Randy Savage.

72

There are all these photos of him not in the ring showcasing the gear that he's using, but

just being on the street, like outside of his house.

73

And you read that the gear makers are talking about, you read that his gear maker is

talking all about, yeah, know, sometimes I would just see him in his boots.

74

Other times it would be, you know, without shoes or whatnot.

75

But it's just so cool to be able to have those stories of this behind the scenes of

something that's so important in the world of professional wrestling in a way that we've

76

never really had the highlight of.

77

And for you, you've gotten to work in the world of pro wrestling now for over a decade

now.

78

What was the wrestler for you that really highlighted the fact of all this elaborate gear

and made you take notice of the gear in pro wrestling?

79

There's so many you know like I've been asked like what's my Mount Rushmore of favorite

wrestlers gears, and I think it's all perspective I think it's all point of view of who

80

you are and what you think is cool um Which is a big point of this book was the psychology

behind it because we're all individuals We all have different tastes we all have different

81

people that we will we connect to because we're like I love how they express themselves um

For me, I think it's across the board, and I think it's the uniqueness of how each

82

specific wrestler was showing up in a different way with the small details, right?

83

if you're a heel at the time, you're gonna wear darker colors and maybe there's a little

bit more edge and there's the aesthetic that feels very gothic and deep and dark.

84

um Or if you're a baby face and you're like a Tiffany Stratton and you're wearing pink and

glitter and

85

It's Barbie, it's all very themed.

86

think that there's a point, obviously, to be told in why people are doing that.

87

I think that for me, there's not maybe one particular, but more about the concept, the

overall idea and taking note of that, of how these stories are being told in an aesthetic

88

way.

89

um I think someone that talk about all the time and of course we say, what a legend, what

an icon.

90

And I think that those terms are very loose sometimes in the way that we describe them.

91

But we talk about Ric Flair and all of the robes that he's worn over the years.

92

You think about how much time and effort and money has been spent on these robes that are

now worn once, twice.

93

They go in a closet.

94

Sometimes they head to a museum.

95

um But then from Ric Flair to the Shawn Michaels of the world, where there's ideas that

started as something small.

96

mean...

97

In this book you think about how many interviews Shawn Michaels has done over the years

and how many times he gets asked the same question.

98

So many wrestlers are what's your favorite WrestleMania moment?

99

What does this move feel like in the ring?

100

Who's your favorite opponent?

101

But being able to discover something brand new from Shawn Michaels of the story of being

the heartbreak kid.

102

That was something that I thought, why has he never been asked this before?

103

We all know the legend goes as Mr.

104

Perfect said it on commentary, but it goes deeper.

105

It goes deeper and it attributes to a lot of what his gear was and how that all formed

together and molded together to become the Heartbreak Kid.

106

um So I think that Sean, we have to give a lot of credit to him.

107

There's so many wrestlers today that give homages to him.

108

Even The Undertaker, um even Rey Mysterio and the legend that he has in the lucho style of

wrestling and the masks um and the heritage that he goes back to his Latino

109

So I think there's so many that we could talk about and go, it was this person.

110

But for me, it's a variety.

111

It's the uniqueness that everyone is bringing to the table week in and week out that

allowed me to recognize that there's something here.

112

There's a bigger conversation.

113

What a great answer too, because you highlighted so many different people and so many

different points, but I gotta go ahead and talk about how I'm a Shawn Michaels guy.

114

I've been a Shawn Michaels guy ever since I fell in love with it.

115

My first match that I had seen was Shawn and Bret WrestleMania 12, which everyone's just

like, how is that the match that got you into it, the 60 minute thing?

116

But I loved it all the way from him coming down from the rafters.

117

I'll always be a Shawn guy.

118

And you're so right.

119

Maybe as a young man, I hadn't really thought about

120

the gear in the way that we're talking about it today.

121

But there's something about someone dressed in this just pure white coming down with all

of this shining material, just coming down with such flamboyant attitude and such

122

charismatic nature to him that for anybody watching that day and anyone who's seen Sean's

gear over the years, you you can't understate how important the gear is to a character and

123

how important the gear is to

124

the character itself, right?

125

because even Johnny Gargano, you have a quote from in the book talking about Sean Michaels

also.

126

And for those listening, Gargano is a huge Sean Michaels fan.

127

And while maybe the gear translates a little bit differently to someone like Gargano, it

still highlights the character they're portraying.

128

And the influence that Sean Michaels had can't be understated.

129

Now.

130

In the book also, you go through so many different eras.

131

you chose to have a forward written by the one and only Mercedes Monet.

132

What was the choice for you to have Mercedes Monet write the forward for this?

133

Because in my opinion, she's got some of the best gear in modern wrestling going today.

134

there's so many looks that Mercedes has brought to the table, weekend, week out, over

different companies, going back to Sasha Banks, going back to her NXT days, to her run in

135

AEW and then what she's doing in Japan and all the things that uh I wanted, I was very

particular about wanting this to be a female.

136

I toyed with the idea of a couple different people.

137

I had thought about Chris Jericho being also writing this forward.

138

I think that

139

he is in the conversation to being one of the most evolved wrestlers of all time in the

ring, but also in his appearance and the way that he can tell a story like no other and he

140

can make you believe.

141

em so I thought about Chris, but then I really wanted a female, so I thought Bianca Belair

would be someone that I would love to have.

142

We couldn't make it work for this one, maybe for volume two, that would be something that

we could do, but...

143

Mercedes was someone that was at the top of my plate, top of the line the whole time for

me saying, why would I not?

144

Why would I not reach out and inquire?

145

um I reached out to her, she said, absolutely.

146

She got this back to me.

147

She got the forward back to me in two days.

148

So it also was like, she was excited about the project.

149

She's been very supportive about the project the entire time.

150

and her words were so beautifully written.

151

If you flip through her forward, she talks about the way that we express ourselves in what

we wear is a lot of who we are.

152

And so being able to have Mercedes have such a great footprint in this book was very

important to me, but also an honor to me as well to have someone like Mercedes Monet write

153

my forward.

154

And I have a quote right here from Mercedes Monet in that forward, the fashion transcends

mere fabric and stitching.

155

It's an art form that allows us to communicate without words.

156

As an entertainer, I have always believed that the way we present ourselves can create

impression.

157

And I love the fact of how succinct that is because on my side of the world where I'm

working on the audio craft, the sonic craft to brand a character, what Mercedes is talking

158

about here from the visual element.

159

can do so much from an angle that you're doing to presenting the character.

160

Like you said, you could be a bad guy in pro wrestling and be wearing black.

161

But then also you have someone like Rhea Ripley right now, Demi Bennett, right?

162

Where she's still got this really heavy metal type character, this really gothic

character, and she's still wearing black to the ring.

163

But at the same time, it works for her because she's got all these other things that she's

doing.

164

So it's one of these things where Mercedes Monet coming up and being like, hey, this is

such a big part.

165

of professional wrestling that we don't even think about.

166

can't tell you how good of a introduction that is to the book.

167

And you highlighted everybody across the board, right?

168

You went to WWE, New Japan, AEW, TNA.

169

You have so many different people that you're highlighting in here from Seth Rollins, to

Will Ospreay, to Kenny Omega.

170

And across companies you see over the years and even more modern wrestling.

171

how different all of these styles can be.

172

chose wrestlers to highlight in the modern era, what were some of those choices that you

made?

173

And I feel like there are so many different wrestlers I could have added as well.

174

I could only really choose 50 or a little bit around the number of 50 because the book is

only so big.

175

I think it's 286 pages or something and still some of the pages we had more context.

176

We just weren't able to put everything in.

177

It was all my own opinion.

178

think that you see on Twitter where it says all opinions are my own.

179

This is exactly how this book was for me.

180

uh I bounced some ideas off of, course, my husband who is in the wrestling industry as

well, Vic Joseph, Sam Roberts to Peter Rosenberg, to different people that are in the

181

industry that would consider themselves almost wrestling historians of.

182

where does this fit?

183

Does this make sense?

184

Do you think that this person has had enough variety in their look?

185

I think that that's something that was really important to me to consider because so many

people have the consistency in their looks.

186

So many people throughout the years have had one singular look and they've never changed

it and it's worked.

187

And that's something to note and go, okay, well that's worked for them.

188

There's a reason why Hulk Hogan wore red and yellow and he kept that way because he knew

that it made sense.

189

But then you look at the varieties we talked about Chris Jericho, when we go, well, he's

got so many evolved looks over time.

190

Macho Man, Randy Savage going to Macho King all the way down to like, or even before Macho

King and wearing some of the gold robes.

191

one of the robes he had that I got to like touch, feel, look at was from the 1970s before

Michael Braun came away or came into the picture um to where, where Randy was at the end

192

of his career.

193

And so

194

I think for me it was just who has done something that has.

195

really carved this path for the next generation to take and apply and make it their own.

196

who should we feature that has done something that is so prominent that we have to go

like, yeah, you got to give them their flowers because it worked like it worked and it

197

played into their character and they had some of these massive moments in their career,

WrestleMania, Summer Slams, etc.

198

um That really it all just came together the moment and the look became magic and we all

talk about it and we remember it and we it's

199

deep, deep psychology thing almost.

200

I have a minor in psychology and I'm like, what would I ever do with a minor in

psychology?

201

And here we are today.

202

were so many that I wasn't able to feature that again, I would love to have in a volume

two, but I think so many people that we have to say, well, yeah, no brainer, duh.

203

Of course they would be in the book.

204

Of course they would make it in, you know, the attitude era or ooh, they were a big part

in swaying how we were thinking about it and how we were watching television at that time.

205

I'm excited to see what everyone else thinks about all the people that were put into this

book.

206

um Some that go really unrecognized and some that don't give enough credit that I also

felt was important to give them the love that they deserve.

207

I love how you also brought up that some people change their looks over time and other

people kind of have a consistency to them, right?

208

You bring up Hulk Hogan, but one that I wanted to bring up with you was kind of a compare

and contrast between someone like Sensational Sherry versus someone like Chyna, right?

209

If we think about Sensational Sherry, she wore lots of different outfits during her time

in pro wrestling.

210

But if you think of someone like Chyna, the consistency of her coming out, generally in

the all black, and she changed it a little bit when she went from DX to doing more of her

211

solo stuff or working with Eddie Guerrero and people like that.

212

But there's something to be said in knowing when you should change, how you should change,

or just saying, you know what, this is what's gonna fit my personality.

213

And the same thing could be said about entrance themes.

214

There are some people who keep an entrance theme, Shawn Michaels is a great example, for

like 25, 30 years.

215

And there are some people that say, you know what, at this stage of my career, I'm doing

something different, I know when I need to change.

216

I have this feeling where I need to address a different part of what I'm doing, maybe

address a different storyline.

217

and go in a different direction.

218

But the fact of being able to have wrestlers that can go, you know what, I'm going to

embody this now, and that's going to be my look for X amount of time until I'm done in pro

219

wrestling, or being able to change over time with what they feel is necessary, I think

it's such a huge, important point.

220

And something, again, that goes under the radar a little bit.

221

Now, you mentioned Bianca Belair.

222

We have to mention Bianca Belair because she makes all her own gear.

223

So I totally understand how the highlight of her.

224

is so important in a book like this.

225

But I want to ask you too, Bianca Belair has created lots of her own gear.

226

So we're going to put her in this category too, who have been some of your favorite gear

makers that we can highlight?

227

gear makers people seems to assist seems to on the other side.

228

I think we have to give credit to Terry Anderson Julie Youngberg who have been on the WWE

team for years, their sisters.

229

Julie did all of Sean's things, Terry did all of Undertaker.

230

She did some of Rick's robes.

231

She did a lot of the Heart Dynasty, Heart Legacy.

232

It was funny because when I was interviewing Terry.

233

A lot of people I would get on the phone, obviously, if I was interviewing a wrestler or

someone that specifically did work for specific people.

234

And I said to Terry, I'm like, I don't even know where to begin because I would be like.

235

Oh, so did you work on Brett Hart?

236

And she'd be like, yeah, and I worked on Natty's and I worked on Jim's and I was the one

that created the original uh look of like when they had this jacket that had these cap

237

sleeves and the fringe that came from the side that Natty's still kind of incorporates

today.

238

So it was like, we would start and then I'd be like, and did you create?

239

And she's like, yes, and that was mine.

240

So it was like, we just kept going in circles.

241

Where I could have spent an entire day diving in with Terry and all of the work that she

242

She's still making gear today on the WWE team.

243

absolutely needs to get her flowers.

244

Julie also needs to get her flowers.

245

Surat, that has worked on so many people's gear from Seth Rollins to Shinsuke to the New

Day to all these people.

246

So I think there's so many Seamsters, says Seamsters, Jolene.

247

Jolene has done a lot of stuff.

248

She's also in the WWE team that works on Becky Lynch's, Chelsea Green.

249

It goes on and on.

250

There's so many because when you find something you like and you do it right, like if it's

not broke, don't fix it, right?

251

Like that's where I think these people are very skilled and they're very em undervalued if

we've used that word here.

252

of the work that they do because so many superstars have this vision.

253

Seth Rollins talks about this.

254

the visionary for a reason.

255

I have a vision, but I need help in the execution.

256

I don't know fabric.

257

I don't know measurements.

258

I don't know details.

259

I don't know what would look and pop on stage, but that's where it's a team effort.

260

That's where these seamstresses, these seamsters, these experts come into play and go,

well, let me bring your vision to life.

261

And so being able to incorporate them into this book and share some of their knowledge and

some of their experience to be able to give

262

an idea of new people that are wanting to get into the industry or maybe a seamstress that

has wanted to experimenting in professional wrestling or being able to compare that to

263

fashion and couture to switch that mentality.

264

So I think it was important to bring light to all of the conversation, not just have

inside baseball from the wrestler themselves.

265

Absolutely.

266

And the fact that you're bringing up all these seamstresses that also have this legacy in

the industry, this time on the clock, right?

267

I think that ties into the other thing in the book, which you address a little bit later

on in the book, is the legacies.

268

Like, for example, the Anoa'i, the Samoans, the Hart dynasty, right?

269

All these different factions and families that have come through the wrestling industry

over time.

270

You know, you have Bret, you have Jim Neidhart, you have Natalia,

271

part of the same family and there's this through line from the early times of wrestling

into now that with a lot of these seamstresses, whether they've worked on the original

272

gear or not, it sounds like many of them have.

273

So that's gotta be a really great experience for them being able to say, you know what, I

worked on the early days, the conception of this all the way up to now the next generation

274

of this family or of this faction.

275

And I loved the highlight of the Hart family because there's no more iconic gear in

wrestling.

276

than the Hart family.

277

Exactly.

278

Nati was a massive part of this book and I think that a lot of people don't know that and

I hope that they understand that now.

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When I was doing Threads with Mackenzie Mitchell and we were diving into the closets of

some of your favorite wrestlers, Nati was on my of people that I was like, want to talk to

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her.

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It's very important to me to make sure we spend the time because Nati has been doing this.

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She is so experienced in this industry and again comes from the lineage which you

mentioned.

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So I sat down with Nati and we started talking about her gear and her family and all the

things and we had

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an hour and a half of conversation when we finished the interview she uh

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And I said, Natty, I don't know how I would turn it into a book.

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And she's like, you're an interviewer.

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The way we had this conversation, it was just so fluent and it made so much sense.

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And there were things that were coming out that I was like, huh, I didn't even think about

that or hadn't even talked about this in a long, time or ever.

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And she's like, you need to make this more.

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So she inspired me.

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I wrote a 30 page book proposal, got a literary agent.

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We shopped the idea.

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I got four offers in two weeks, which again reiterated to me that there is

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need for this conversation.

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There's interest across the board.

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It's almost kind of peeling back the onion a layer a little bit without going too far and

exposing the business.

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So for me,

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Nati was somebody that I was like, want to highlight the heart legacy and everything that

the family has done.

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One of my favorite quotes and moments in the book, Nati talks about her family and I

thought, what do you ask Nati?

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Of course we had an hour and a half of conversation in the past about the pink and black

and where that comes from.

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but I said, if you were to create an iconic Hall of Fame look for your family that

embodies everything that the Heart Dynasty has brought to the table, has created over the

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years, what would that look like?

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And she was like, I think it would be a beautiful like black suit.

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with a pink bow tie that had classic pearl details that had a little bit of diamonds here

and that like it just made so much sense.

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And she was like, was, it would be satin.

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It would have these pieces.

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Like I was like, yes, yes.

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It didn't it from Jim from her, her grandfather Stu all the way down to where she is

today.

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took pieces and homage from everyone that has been in this wrestling lineage over the

years.

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I want

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these conversations to be different.

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I want these answers to be, to feel very intentional and make you think about it and

really think deeply into, yeah, this is why my favorite wrestler did this.

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I just never put the pieces together.

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And I love the fact that Nati has that sense too, you know, because you're having these

conversations with her.

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And I think it's very easy for us to think like, you know, Nati's got this lineage.

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Of course she would use the heart logos.

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Of course she would use the pink and black, right?

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But not necessarily.

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And I think that what she's done over her career and the entire Heart Dynasty, for that

matter, has really continued to pay homage to the past, keep it in the present, and for

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whatever happens in the future, really create

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just this synonymous look and the synonymous vision for what the hearts are.

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I've always thought that the pink and black in the heart was always incredibly classy.

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Whether the hearts were baby faces or heels, ladies and gentlemen, you can't deny that

that's one of the most iconic looks.

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And, you know, I think it's always been very well represented within the heart dynasty.

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we're talking so much about the visual side of pro wrestling.

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I got to get some of your opinions on the audio side of pro wrestling also, because now

you've been at this.

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for about a decade in the world of professional wrestling.

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As we talk about themes on this side, I gotta ask you, what are some of your favorite

entrance themes in pro wrestling?

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Hmm.

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You know, it's interesting because I, we keep saying interesting, but it is, something

that people don't talk about all the time.

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Like I said, they say, oh, my favorite match is this.

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Oh, I like this move because like they don't go like, yeah, but this is a, this is the

whole pie.

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Like you're only seeing a sliver of the pie, which is the match, you don't see the, you

see the training and the agility and the athlete perspective, but you don't see the other

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piece of the pie that creates and makes it whole.

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I think when we talk about some of the best we have to talk about Rhea Ripley.

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um She's one in the modern day that we all kind of look at and we go like.

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Yeah, it's so powerful every single time she makes her entrance.

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you know, it's real Ripley and the fans react and they create this moment to even Cody

Rhodes and like intentionally the lines and the songs and the verbiage that comes out of

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it.

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As the American nightmare, it makes sense.

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He talks about his family, his dad, his being the American nightmare.

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He talks about all of that together.

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Again, it's a connection point of your feeling.

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I talk about this with the New Day in my book.

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um

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And something I think I want people to know a lot of this is I wrote everything in this

book.

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was every, there was not a moment where I was like, hmm, Vic, do you want to write this

feature?

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Like, no, I sat there on the couch, couch, plane, boat.

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I swear I was on a cruise um at TNA backstage, like in my store in Nashville up till 3

a.m.

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I was everywhere and I made sure that I wanted to make, I wanted it to be my work.

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I wanted to make sure that Mackenzie came through in it.

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um And back to this when we talked about the New Day, the feeling of an entrance and your

gear and who a superstar is, it should touch on every sense.

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Your sight, your sound, like maybe not your taste, but like in terms of like taste if

we're talking about fashion.

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But I mean, in terms of all of it, like it should feel like the whole package.

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And the New Day was somebody that I was like, they do that.

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Perfectly when they were a collective group they would come out and everybody would just

feel happy like you couldn't not smile you were constantly like and they're throwing

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cereal and Donuts and all the things and you're like, yes It's all of your senses that

what they're supposed to make you feel is this like rush of excitement It was nailed every

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time that you're like, it's the bright colors.

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It's the sound the happiness like it all came together in one full piece

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I think the new day when they first started with the gimmick that they were originally

going with, The theme I thought was really great But it would have been very easy for them

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as they started to shift into more of the fun time throwing pancakes style gimmick for

them to change the theme into something, into whatever they would have.

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But I feel like they committed to the bit, right?

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And I had Dijak on a while ago, probably one of my first guests on this show.

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And he was just like as important as it is.

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for the music and the gear to represent you, you have to feel it too.

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You have to have buy-in and you've got to be able to make it work.

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And I think that, you know, between talking about entrance themes, talking about the gear

and the seams and talking about the talent in general, everything's got to mesh together

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in this way where the talent has the buy-in and goes, you know what, this is going to work

one way or another.

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This is going to work for me.

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Yes, absolutely.

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we talk about when we talk about the new day, writing this book, I have felt a little like

nervous in the fact of, okay, well, I've been working on this for so long.

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I almost feel like a musician where people write.

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these songs, these beautiful love letters, and they take a bit of their heartbreak or

their love or whatever it is, and they write this album, and they're like, I've put so

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much love and effort into this, and then being able to put it on display is such a

vulnerable thing.

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And so for me, it almost feels similar and like, here's my work.

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Do you like it?

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Do you wanna buy it?

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Do you think it's cute?

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What do you think?

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and being able to get the feedback from the stars themselves.

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Shinsuke Nakamura was one that messaged me immediately and was like, Mackenzie, I'm just

so honored to be part of that, part of this project, which made me immediately be like,

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whoo, okay, somebody likes it, right?

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And then number two, both E, Big E and Kofi Kingston have been such champions of this

book.

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um Big E has connected me to several people and he just sent me an audio note on

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Gosh, we were at TNA on Friday, sent me on a big audio note and just how grateful he is to

be part of the book.

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then Kofi Kingston sent me a picture of his son flipping through and was like, I just want

to let you know, I knew this idea was supposed to be.

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Like we've been meaning to talk about this, but I just didn't know how important it would

be.

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And being able to share this moment with my children is so cool.

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He said, my daughter flipped through and every girl that would come up, she would go, I

wanna be her.

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I wanna be her.

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Oh, I love this.

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I wanna be her.

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And I'm like, those are the moments as the author of this book going, yeah, this is bigger

than me.

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This is a bigger conversation that was meant to be had over time.

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um

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And so being able to fulfill this and open the door for a younger generation or for this

conversation to happen uh was super important and it's so fulfilling and I'm grateful for

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all of it.

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And like you said, you don't know how important the work is until the work is out there,

right?

399

And you hear these stories from people that you've had in the book or people that you've

had these conversations with and they give you feedback like that.

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I love how it's such a rejuvenating feeling for you.

401

Like, hey, I have this concept, I have this idea, and then all of sudden when you see the

pages printed and you're talking to the talent or the talent's talking to you, shout out

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to Shinsuke.

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He's one of my favorites of all time too.

404

Again, has never had a bad entrance theme either, ladies and gentlemen, and has never had

bad gear either.

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right?

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I love that.

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And as someone with kids also, when they watch wrestling and seeing like my son really

resonate with someone like a Dragon Lee or something like that, like seeing him come out

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in his get up and being like, I want to do that or just like, I love it.

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Like, it can't be understated.

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Now, to wrap up our interview, I got to ask you, Mackenzie Mitchell, what are some of the

songs on your playlist?

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Ooh, well, I can answer this in a couple ways because obviously the book is about threads,

it's about fashion.

412

And when I personally put some of my looks together and what I'm wearing on TNA, what I'm

wearing on television, what I have for years, even at the WWE, um I was always finding

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inspiration from Dua Lipa, which is a pop.

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artist, a big pop artist, and then Casey Musgraves.

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I have this almost like, she's a Texas girl, she's kind of like, she creates, she's carved

her own path, she really is just like a headstrong mentality.

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And so for me, a little bit of country, a little bit of monochromatic looks um in both of

them.

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And I think I resonate with them not just on their looks, but on their music.

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They tell deeper stories.

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em

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Maren Morris, I love a female artist, I really do.

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I listen to a lot of female artists.

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um But like I said, Dua Lipa's probably on my playlist.

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Kacey Musgraves is on my playlist.

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Maren Morris is on my playlist.

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um Let's see, who else am I listening to at the moment?

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That's really it.

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That's really it at the moment.

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I mean, I do love pop music.

429

I do love country music.

430

I'm born in the Midwest, Missouri, like southern part of Missouri by Arkansas.

431

So I still love my country music and have my store in Nashville.

432

So those are probably my top three at the moment.

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I'm never going to bash the country.

434

I'm such a Brad Paisley fan.

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Brent Mason is such a great guitarist.

436

And then for me, throw on some Gretchen Wilson.

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Okay, Redneck Woman, yes, I'm right there with you.

438

Well, thank you so much for making time to come on the show, everybody.

439

As we talked about at the top, but we're to go ahead and reiterate it again.

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Threads of triumph is going to be out April 7th, but April 8th, you can catch her at

bookends in Ridgewood, New Jersey at 6 p.m.

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I'll be there.

442

You're going to be there.

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And if you weren't planning on being there, you're planning on being there now.

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Mackenzie, thank you so much for your time today.

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Thank you.

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Yes, I hope to see everybody in New Jersey.

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I look forward to finally sharing my work with everyone and being able to sign some copies

there in New Jersey.

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So come see us.