On the March 17th edition of AEW Collision, Adam Copeland introduced "Spike" to AEW fans. The inspiration for the spiked black 2x4 came to him after a phone call from WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley.
During this week's episode of Fightful's Wrestling Perspective Podcast, co-host and former MLB All-Star Dmitri Young recalled the time he worked a storyline with the WWE Hall of Famer at the 2005 Survivor Series in Detroit. Young was playing for the Detroit Tigers at the time.
Dennis Farrell, the show's co-host, asked the 13-year MLB veteran how he was approached for this guest spot with the WWE. Dmitri would explain in detail how it came about and the behind-the-scenes of it.
Dmitri said, "The way that came about, my buddy Dave Bailey, rest his soul. He had a connection with the whole wrestling business, and he contacted some people from WWE because they were [performing] at Joe Louis Arena. I was told there's a speaking role for you; Edge will have his "Cutting Edge" show, and you will defend the city of Detroit."
Stat of the day:
— Saiyed (@DailyMLBstats4U) January 4, 2024
The most home runs hit by a single player on opening day is 3. It’s been done only 4 times. Dmitri young achieved that feat in 2005. Fun Fact he also appeared in a segment at WWE Survivor Series that year. A career .292 hitter, and 2X all star! pic.twitter.com/IvIootLciL
He would explain behind-the-scenes details of what went down in Detroit that night. "The show started at 8 PM. We were there around 1:30 PM, kind of like a baseball game. You know, the game starts at seven. Like a little league game, most people think everybody shows up at six. It's like that in professional wrestling, and we're in this waiting room. I had my two sons, Owen and Damon, and Scott Shields, the former pitcher with the Angels. He was there cause he's from Detroit.
Dmitri mentioned that Vince McMahon appeared and helped him during the rehearsal before the event.
We got there early, and a lot goes on behind the scenes. They're going over everything they must do, so they don't just wing it; they rehearse it. My role was speaking with Edge; I first had the microphone about a mile away. It was kind of out here. Can you guess who came over there and talked to me? It was Vince McMahon himself, and yes, he came over there and introduced himself. [He was] nice as pie. He told me to close the microphone and slow down when I talked so everybody could hear every word. So when I said my lines to Edge as we practiced, he said, "Nope, do it over, no, do it over. Too fast, slow it down, get, get it up."
"When I did my skit, I wanted to make sure it seemed natural to the people. Like, hold on. You really came to Detroit, and you started talking shit like that. You don't even have a world heavyweight championship under your waist yet. I mean, come on now, when I did the whole thing with Edge and Lita grabbing the mic from her and defending the Tigers, Pistons, and, of course, the Red Wings. It was good to represent the city of Detroit because the crowd was so into it."
"I understand when the wrestlers talk about getting that pop like that, that's real, man. It's like a strong energy that you're trying to get out of the people in Detroit, and I achieved it. So when I had to take my son to the restroom right after everything ended and passed by all the wrestlers in the back, it wasn't even in gorilla. It was just a whole bunch of them sitting in that area watching the pay-per-view themselves. They all gave me a standing ovation, and I was like, man, I must have died." Young said.
Dmitri said he almost forgot his lines because of the classic 26-minute match that Triple H and Ric Flair had just before.
"When asked what was going through his mind when it was time for his part, what was going through his mind? Dmitri said, "I forgot my lines because the match before was that blood fest between Triple H and Ric Flair. That was a 25-minute match, and the whole time, I'm just totally blank. Then, when everything started happening, everything just came back to me, and everything just flowed. I don't know if that's a talent or just sheer luck, but I was glad that I didn't stumble or anything like that."
Young played five seasons for the Detroit Tigers and is a two-time all-star.
On #OpeningDay in 2005, Dmitri Young went yard three times for the @Tigers. pic.twitter.com/x6HjXqPhAa
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) April 1, 2021
Fightful will provide live coverage of the "I Quit" match between Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage from AEW Dynamite. The results can be found at the following link.
