Conrad Thompson Doesn’t Think a Vince McMahon Podcast Is a Realistic Idea

– WrestlingInc.com’s Nick Hausman recently spoke to podcast host and Starrcast promoter Conrad Thompson discussed a number of topics, including his upcoming Oceania event, denying talks of trying to book a last match for Booker T at Starrcast, and the idea of a potential podcast with Vince McMahon. Thompson shot down the idea of a possible podcast with Vince McMahon, saying it didn’t seem realistic. Below are some highlights:

Conrad Thompson on putting together the Oceania event: “Well, we’ve always tried to piggyback some sort of event. For the first four, we piggybacked an AEW pay-per-view, or I guess the first one was All In, sort of pre-AEW. And then the next three we’re piggybacking AEW events, and the most recent one, we piggyback SummerSlam. And I just felt strongly that, man, we want to make this a destination. ‘Come see this match and that match and this program and all that sort of thing, and hey, while you’re here, before you go to the show, stop by and get your pictures and autographs, maybe see some panel discussions.’ So we had to have a show put together there in order for that to make sense. And that’s where we’ll lean on the expertise of Nick Aldis and Mickie James and those of the wrestling ilk. I’m going to handle the Starrcast stuff, and they’ll handle the wrestling show, and should be a good time.”

Thompson on how he’s not looking to start a wrestling promotion: “I don’t aim to have a promotion. I know that’s been a big discussion on the heels of Ric Flair’s Last Match, and we’ve certainly played into that a little bit on Jeff Jarrett’s podcast. But that’s just tongue-in-cheek, just to have fun. We don’t have some grandiose plan to start a wrestling promotion, myself and Jeff or whatever, but does that mean that I want to still continue to create content and build experiences for fans? Of course. So I’m going to continue to create podcasts, and continue to do Starrcast, and continue to create content and work on other stuff. But I do think it’s valuable to have relationships where you can. We’ve got a referral deal going with Impact right now — if folks listen to Jeff Jarrett’s podcast and they sign up for the Impact Plus app, they can use promo code ‘Jeff,’ and blah, blah, blah.

“And clearly, I’ve done some stuff with AEW in the past, whether it was appearing on their programming, or holding some press conferences, or doing their conventions with Starrcast. And obviously, I’m a friend of WWE. I’ve loaned them a lot of footage. And Ric Flair’s documentary that comes out later in the month, you’ll see some of my belts and robes and all that stuff, that’s all featured in there. And so my relationship with all these folks are, I’m basically Switzerland, dude. I mean, I don’t mean for that to sound the way it does, but that’s kind of it. I don’t work for AAA, I don’t work for Impact, I don’t work for AEW, I don’t work for WWE. I think the world of Dorian, the fellow who owns AAA and is sort of leading that charge, and I hope that their show in Tempe this past week was super successful. My understanding is it was the first time any event was ran in that arena, and pretty notable that Cain Velasquez was there. And I saw your report that maybe he’s going to do something in LA. Yes, I would love to be helpful for anyone and everyone to try to succeed in wrestling, but I don’t have an official title. I don’t work in any official capacity with any wrestling company.”

Thompson on Booker T claiming he turned down having a final match at Starrcast in 2023: “Nothing. They didn’t exist. I never approached Booker about having a last match, but I think as you and I are talking, Booker’s wrestling this weekend for his promotion. I think the world of Booker and I respect Booker, but I’ve never had a conversation with Booker about doing a last match. Not once.”

On a potential podcast with Vince McMahon: “No, there’s no possibility. I mean, what in the world would be his motivation for doing a podcast? … I assure you, whatever he’s doing, he is not bored. I don’t know Vince McMahon, for real, I’ve maybe had 20 conversations with him in my life, but I would feel confident that he is not bored. He probably took a little bit of time off, and I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s probably working on creating something. I just can’t imagine a guy who we all know, have heard was this giant workaholic, is now just doing nothing. He’s working on something. But I don’t imagine that he has any interest in doing a podcast or any motivation to do a podcast. But of course, if he had any interest and wanted to do a podcast, I would be first in line, sign me up. I just don’t think it’s realistic.”