Chris Van Vliet on The Undertaker, John Cena's Heel Turn, Diamond Dallas Page

CHRIS VAN VLIET is a renowned TV presenter and wrestling interviewer, celebrated for his open and engaging style along with his well-researched questions. He began his career in local news and eventually progressed to larger markets, securing roles on MTV-2 and CBS in Cleveland. A four-time Emmy Award winner, Chris remains a prominent television personality to this day, but it is within the world of professional wrestling that he has truly excelled. His YouTube channel is now a hugely popular destination for fans worldwide, offering in-depth interviews with the biggest wrestling stars from WWE, AEW, TNA and many more. Whether interviewing wrestling legends or emerging talents, Chris Van Vliet has combined professionalism with passion to earn respect from both wrestlers and fans.

Check out the episode now: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music  

On Wrestling Life episode 50, Chris Van Vliet joins Ben Veal to reflect back on some of the highlights from the past few years of his wrestling broadcasting career and how it has personally impacted him , including:

• Being invited to be a guest on The Undertaker's Six Feet Under podcast

• His five interviews with Cody Rhodes and the evolution of 'The American Nightmare' to WWE Champion

• Missing CM Punk's shocking return to WWE despite being in the building for Survivor Series 2023

• Which wrestling superstars initially drew him towards the world of professional wrestling

• How his approach to content creation has shifted in recent years

• His views on John Cena's 2025 heel turn and the importance of long-term storytelling in wrestling

• A surprise first encounter with Diamond Dallas Page and how his friendship with DDP has flourished since

• Becoming a father for a second time and how fatherhood has positively changed his life

• His commitment to encouraging aspiring creators to pursue their passions.

Chris Van Vliet on John Cena's Heel Turn

John Cena's heel turn on Cody Rhodes at the conclusion of WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 shocked the world, and despite his close links to the business, Chris Van Vliet was as surprised as any of us.

"I was in the building. I was in the Rogers Center in my hometown of Toronto ... watching John Cena turn heel was just so masterfully-done. I didn't see it coming [and] I felt that the whole lead up to that with Cody being asked for his soul by The Rock was just a red herring. It was just too obvious. Cody may turn heel at some point in time, and it'll be great when that happens, but I don't think now would be the right time for it to happen."

"I didn't see it coming from John Cena, and I also didn't think we'd have enough time. John Cena has made it very clear that December [2025] is it. December is his last match and he'll never wrestle again after that. He'll still do things with WWE, but he'll never wrestle again. I figured: it was already March by that time. How's John Cena going to turn heel and then end the year as a babyface? That heel run would be too short. Well, whatever they're cooking up here, and whatever they have in store, I think we just need to sit back and wait."

Chris Van Vliet Digs Deep with The Undertaker

When The Undertaker retired The Deadman character for good at Survivor Series 2020, few could have foreseen that the man who protected kayfabe so fiercely for three decades would become the leading wrestling YouTuber and podcaster in the world. Yet wrestling fans can't get enough of hearing the real Mark Calaway provide a rare glimpse behind-the-curtain and share stories from his incredible wrestling life.

In 2024, Chris Van Vliet travelled to Texas to not only interview The Phenom of professional wrestling, but also to be a special guest himself on Six Feet Under.

"There's going to be nothing that ever tops that ... I flew into Austin, did the interview at The Undertaker's [podcasting] studio, I was a guest on his show, and it was just so surreal to be sitting there, talking to one of the greatest of all time about wrestling and him asking me questions about the industry. I was like: are you serious? It's also weird because he introduces himself as Mark and he is the nicest person ever. You have to remember that it's Mark Calaway that you're speaking to, not The Undertaker."

Chris Van Vliet Missed CM Punk's Big Return To The WWE

As one of the biggest names in wrestling broadcasting today, Chris Van Vliet has been sitting ringside for so many of the industry's most iconic moments - yet surprisingly he would miss the most shocking return of the 2020s despite being in the very building where it took place at the 2023 Survivor Series.

"It just speaks to how much of a secret CM Punk's return was to everybody. The way that the WWE press conferences work, the ones that you see right after the PLE, is that usually, as soon as the final match finishes, they get all of the press together and they file them into the room where the press conference is. So the War Games match ended, everybody got up and we're just sitting in the room, waiting for the press conference to start. Then I heard somebody in the back of the room go: "No way, he's here" ... they had a tiny little monitor on the floor and they're like "CM Punk's here." So we all gathered around this tiny little monitor, and you could kind of faintly here the crowd reaction ... there were rumours of it, but I don't think anybody thought it would happen."

Chris Van Vliet Meets DDP For The First Time With A BANG!

Over almost two decades of interviewing professional wrestlers, Chris Van Vliet has build up trust and made friends with many within the business. However, one of his most enduring and closest industry friendships began with a hilarious chance encounter, when he met WWE Hall of Famer DDP for the very first time - not just a legendary wrestler, but also a deeply selfless individual who is passionately committed to helping others.

"He's such a genuinely great person and I love how selfless he is with everything he does: of course you've seen the stories of him helping Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Scott Hall, Butterbean and Lex Luger. That doesn't come from anywhere other than that he just wants to help people ... the way we met is crazy. I'd just flown into LA to interview the cast of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie. I'd just checked into my room and I'm unpacking when I hear someone trying to get into the room. I thought it must be the cleaning staff, but it persisted. I heard the jiggling of the doorknob ... I look through the peephole and it's DDP, who at this point I've never met before ... of all the hotels and all the rooms he could be trying to get into, he tries mine? So I open the door and tell him I'm a big wrestling fan, and he's like "Bro, I gotta go to the bathroom so bad! Can I use yours?" So he comes in, takes the world's longest pee and I'm looking around thinking: How is this happening? He comes out and I tell him I interview a lot of wrestlers and I started to show him my YouTube channel. I said I'd love to have you on the show sometime, and straight away he goes: "Why don't we do it right now?" That was where our friendship began."

REAL TALK FROM REAL TALENT

Wrestling Life with Ben Veal shines the spotlight brightly and positively on those who shaped wrestling's past, drive its present and influence its future. Widely available, the show features honest, open and inspiring conversations with many of the sport's biggest names, including Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Mick Foley, Lilian Garcia, Candice Michelle, Buff Bagwell, Doug Williams, Eric Bischoff and many more. The show is presented by award-winning journalist and content creator Ben Veal, co-author of Marc Mero's autobiography, Badd To Good: The Inspiring Story of a Wrestling Wildman.

Subscribe : Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music