Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: “The Chosen One” Caleb Konley
Date: 07/30/2026
Your Host: “Arizona” James Walsh
Caleb Konley has been around the wrestling world for 21 years. Still young, this veteran of the ring wars has emerged as the face of JCW Lunacy and currently reigns as their Heavyweight Champion! We spoke to Caleb once before back in 2018 discussing, at that time, his TNA Impact Wrestling run. But, today, we go where the Juggalos go! We discuss Lunacy!
In an honest chat, we cover how he has been a life-long Insane Clown Posse fan, having Vince Russo as his manager, his Dark Side of the Ring appearance discussing the late Daffney, his TNA run as a whole, and the future for the JCW Lunacy brand. Caleb is a genuine guy and as you’ve come to expect from “Arizona” James over the past 23 years, if the guest is real, there is good content to be had!
JCW Lunacy airs every Thursday night on YouTube presenting pro wrestling in that “crash TV” style that Vince Russo made famous back during the Monday Night Wars. If you want wrestling the way it once was, it just may be Lunacy you’re looking for. Who else could promote an ICP product with a Billy Joel quote?
- Listen to this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/T8HKhiDDubs
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- Watch JCW Lunacy on YouTube (youtube.com/@Psychopathic_Records)
CALEB KONLEY:
On being the face of Juggalo Championship Wrestling Lunacy:
“Honestly, man. This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my wrestling career! If you know me, you know I’ve been doing Juggalo things since I was 13, 14 years old. I never thought the two would intertwine to where my wrestling career and getting to be a Juggalo would be connected. Over the past two years, it has all come together. It is shocking on one side of it. But, on the other side of it, it feels like this was all meant to happen!”
On what he means by “doing Juggalo things”:
“This is a true story. When I was 14 years old, whatever age you are when you’re a freshman in high school, I literally hitchhiked from Atlanta, Georgia to Peoria, Illinois… Wait, no, not Peoria. Well, yes, Peoria the second year. But, just outside of Detroit for the Gathering of the Juggalos. This was early Internet stuff, chat rooms and stuff like that. I connected with people from Chatanooga, Tennessee who were willing to, for a few dollars for some gas money, drive down south to pick me up before driving north. So, literally before I could drive, when I was just old enough to be left alone for five minutes, I was going to ICP concerts, going to the Gathering. Backyard wrestling! All of it!”
On having the ICP as his boss:
“It is awesome. They are super hands on. Violent J, in particular, is very hands on. As much as he knows what he wants and has his ideas on how to get there, he’s also super open on hearing people’s thoughts and concerns, and, you know, their ideas. They also came up in the wrestling world. So, a lot fo their thoughts are already wrestling minded. But, they also have the music stuff and creativity as well. So, just as a normal indy wrestler, you’re not used to that collaborative-ness out of an artist. And, it is also cool to be able to text Violent J with any idea I have, even if it is the middle of the night, and get a response from him on if he thinks it will work on the show or not.”
On JCW Lunacy being “crash TV” like WWE RAW during the Attitude Era:
“I think so, man. I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I grew up with the Attitude Era. Every week, I’m approached by someone who says they miss the Attitude Era or they miss how wrestling was in the 90’s or even the 80’s. And, I feel like we’re the only company right now doing that! I mean, NWA Powerrr is a throwback style show but theirs is more family friendly. JCW Lunacy is the Attitude Era! It is ECW! It’s crazy! It’s the circus! It is the Dark Carnival!”
On having Vince Russo as his JCW Lunacy manager:
“Again, man. Just like working for ICP, 14 year old me would have told you, “Of course! I’ll be a wrestler, I’ll be working for ICP. I’ll have Vince Russo in my corner, the most accomplished wrestling writer of all time, he’ll be my best friend. And, that is the way wrestling is going to work!” But, you know, you get disillusioned along the way. I mean, 21 years in and somehow, I slipped and fell my way into the best possible position for myself.”
On what Vince Russo is like to work with:
“Vince Russo is great. Everyone can have an opinion and maybe, in some ways, everyone can be right with whatever opinion they have. To me, on a personal level, he’s been great. He’s been supportive. It is incredible to have somebody of his caliber looking out for me.”
On if appearing in the Daffney Dark Side of the Ring made it hard for him to be a heel:
“I don’t know, man. I mean, we’re all characters. The Dark Side of the Ring, that is the first time that I ever spoke publicly about Daffney’s passing. Maybe I might have said a few things to some close friends. Never anything in public, though. I’d get asked to do podcasts and I wouldn’t want to talk about that. And, I work for Highspots.com. Every year, around Christmas, we do auctions that go to mental illness and organizations that she was a part of. And, every year, my boss would ask me to talk about Daffney as part of it and I’d tell him I wasn’t ready. So, what you see on Dark Side of the Ring, and by the way, I’ve not watched that yet. I don’t know if I’m mentally ready to sit down and watch that yet. But, I was worried about it. You never know how those things will be cropped or edited. But, everyone has said more or less the same thing about it… What you saw on there was 5 years, or however long it was, of emotion spilling out from my heart that had been stuck there untouched. That was me at my rawest. So, to go from that to JCW, I like to think of myself as an entertainer. So, when it comes time for me to be the cocky asshole, I’m always up to that challenge.”
On what it was like to sign with TNA Impact Wrestling:
“It was like I could breathe. I mean, it was like maybe all this stupid time on the road, all these crazy bumps, maybe somehow it is all going to work out. I mean, I learned a lot working for TNA the first time around. I got to learn how to work for TV. I really did learn a lot the first time around. And then the second run, as Kaleb with a K, I got to do a completely different character that I had never done before. All of it, if it was Caleb with Trevor Lee or if it was Kaleb with Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne, it was all learning to be different characters. Like, I spent 10 years just being Caleb Konley, a guy who wanted to be a good wrestler and be on TV. Then, I became an influencer, a masked guy (Suicide), and whatever odd-ball situation they put me in, I wanted to show, “Yeah, I can do it!” and make the best of it!”
On being a young veteran with 21 years under his belt
“I’ve been lucky. I’ve not really had many major injuries. So, I still feel like I could go easily for another 10 years. That said, I do hear some of my friends who were in WWE or AEW starting to talk about what their plans are after wrestling. I have started thinking about my plans for after wrestling be it after I decide I’m done wrestling or if it is decided for me. I’ve been able to learn a lot about the behind the scenes side of wrestling to where I could still contribute after my wrestling days are over. I don’t think pro wrestling is getting rid of me anytime soon!”
On Josh Bishop gunning for his JCW Lunacy Heavyweight Title:
“Josh is a big, scary man. He can do some damage! But, what he is lacking is, he only has 2 brain cells. And, right now, they are competing for third place! That is where I stand with Josh Bishop. I think I can outsmart him because I have an IQ over 80.”
On avoiding laughing at Joel Gertner’s promos:
“I do find myself having to pinch myself to stop me from giggling. I grew up a huge ECW fan also. And, whenever Joel Gertner was on… First of all, I had to make sure my parents weren’t in the room because he would say some of the craziest shit. But, he was also captivating. For whatever reason, I didn’t care about the Dudley Boyz. I didn’t like them. And, with good reason! But, when Joel Gertner would talk, I was captivated. And, if he had a good line, you better believe I was taking that line to school and using it!”
On when he realized pro wrestling was for him:
“I don’t think there was ever a time it wasn’t a part of my life. My dad worked for David Allen Coe in the country music business. David was best friends with Dusty Rhodes. He went out on the road with them for the Great American Bash. So, I was, one, probably conceived at a wrestling show. And, it was always around me. My dad was a wrestling fan. He eventually got into the wrestling business. So, for me, as a 5 year old, I always thought wrestling would be what I would do.”
On JCW Lunacy starting to attract big names such as EC3, Krule, and others:
“The appeal is that JCW Lunacy isn’t like any otherr wrestling show. I hear from people every week that they watched JCW Lunacy and maybe they aren’t fans of ICP or their music but they watched the show to check it out and they loved it because we are different. I do podcasts all the time and when I do, I tell them the same thing. This is the msot fun I’ve ever had in pro wrestling. If you’re a pro wrestler and you’ve been doing this for 20 years, being told what is right and what is wrong in the world of pro wrestling and you’re looking for a place with a little bit of freedom, JCW is the place for you. So, when you see Donovan Dijak, Joel Gertner, EC3, and others come in, they know they’re not going to be part fo the same cookie-cutter wrestling. For me, that is an exciting thought. To know that I’m not going to be a part fo the same TBS, TNT style of wrestling.”
On advice to wrestling fans who sometimes fear they are falling out of love with it:
“There’s a lot of wrestling out there. Find a show you like. If you don’t like SmackDown, don’t watch it. If you don’t like Dynamite, don’t watch it. Find what you do like and focus on that instead of letting the negativity get to you. There’s so much to choose from. Find your favorite.”
On what the future is for JCW Lunacy, potentially a TV deal or streaming deal:
“Right now, we’re building our momentum. Of course I would love to see us get a TV deal or a streaming deal. For our show, and so we wouldn’t have to change our show for TV guidelines, I almost think a streaming deal would be better for us. But, of course we want to continue to see our audience grow and evolve. But, we aso want to be true to what we have created.”
