Posted on 11/13/125 by Colin Vassallo
Actor and pro wrestler Paul Walter Hauser sat down with
Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood,
California to discuss his roles in “Cobra Kai” and “I,
Tonya”, why he turned down the opportunity to be in a movie
with John Cena, having wrestling as a side quest, not being
discussed in the celebrity wrestling conversation, taking
bumps through glass and onto thumbtacks, working with AEW
and MLW, which spot hurt the most, his upcoming role as
Chris Farley, potentially starring in a Mick Foley biopic,
and more!
On wrestling being a side quest:
“My pay differs based on the company too. If I were to do
something with TNA, and they were like, ‘Hey, come do a
match with AJ Francis, or a tag match, you’re gonna be
paired with the Rascalz against three heels.’ I would want
10 grand for that match, because, to me, you’re also getting
eyeballs and press and whatever else comes with it, and I’m
going to go out of my way to make it as good as it possibly
can be, at the risk of hurting myself. But if Action
Wrestling down in Georgia is like, ‘Hey, do you want to come
fight, take an L to Adam Priest or tag with your buddy
Darian Bengston, I’m not going to charge them more than
three or 400 bucks. I still got to drive down there and
drive back. I don’t know if I’m selling merch or not. I
don’t know if they’re not going to have catering, there’s X
amount of things that you give up to just wrestle and have
fun.”
On not being considered a celebrity wrestler:
“I know, and it’s frustrating. I’m not gonna pretend it
doesn’t bother me a little bit. I’m working really hard, and
I’m, you know, not every match is a banger for goodness
sake. I’ve had some smelly ass matches. There’s probably six
or seven of those 22 that I would like to hide somewhere and
never show anyone. But there’s probably four or five, even
six that I’m very proud of. You should watch me and Joey
Janela at DEFY, you should watch me and Steve Maclin at
Revolver. You should watch this promo I cut in MLW.”
On what his wife thinks to it:
“She does not like it at all, but I also tell her the truth.
I take calculated risks. There was a time when I was taking
edibles and drinking scotch and partying around this city in
Hollywood, and that was way more dangerous than wrestling.”
On the conversation that if he gets injured, it could delay
shooting:
“100% [I’ve had that conversation]. I did a pre-tape in 2024
for MLW. We did a match that was famously panned by the
online community. They despised it. I had a match with Tom
Lawlor, and it was cinematic. Re-watching it, there were a
couple of things I would do differently. I would shave off
three or four minutes, and I would also make it more 60 or
70% him, I would change the ratio a little bit on who takes
what. But that match, we had already shot, and I was doing
whatever I was doing that summer. It must have been the
Wahlberg movie, because I was in Australia, and they’re
like, Is Paul fighting a match tonight? Because they saw it
on Instagram or something. And my manager is like, no, he
already taped that. They’re just gonna air it. But they were
freaking out, ready to read me the riot act, because they
thought I was wrestling while I was shooting.”