Mike 'Cash Flo' Walden Talks Bigfoot Role in Tulsa King Season 2 & Working Alongside Stallone

[00:00:09] Cash, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:13] Thanks for having me Elias.

[00:00:16] Great, I've been looking forward to this chat. The listeners, the viewers can see you on Tulsa King, they can see you in the wrestling world. You've been, your career has been going up the last few weeks, a lot of talk about you and your character.

[00:00:27] Well, you know what, that's a testament to the writing there, those guys.

[00:00:32] It's, you know, yeah, my job is to try and give it a little bit of life, but, you know, they knew what they wanted. So, you know, I'm just happy to be a part of it, you know, what a, what an amazing opportunity for somebody like me, for sure.

[00:00:47] Right. Did you see that article? I wanted to start off with this. Did you see the article about how Bigfoot might be the best character in Season 2?

[00:00:55] I've read a few articles here and there, you know, you get, you get to the point where you don't, you know, necessarily read a lot of that stuff or look at a lot of that stuff. You know, that's pretty amazing though. Like I said, that's a testament to those writers, you know, they, they knew exactly what they wanted to put out there. You know, I think the character fits really well in, in the, you know, in the wild and zany crew that, that Dwight has out there. And, you know, I'm just glad to be a part of it.

[00:01:22] So, yeah, let's start off with, you know, some background stuff with you too, you know, professional wrestler was wrestling always the dream or was it acting always a dream and that you wanted to start off in wrestling? How did that happen?

[00:01:33] Well, you know what, Elias, I think they go hand in hand, you know, professional wrestling is, is, is theater. You know, it really is. It's, it's more of a physical one take type of theater, but that's what it is.

[00:01:50] And, you know, I think you get to a certain point in professional wrestling, you know, the physical part kind of takes its toll and it's in, you know, if, if this, if that is truly what you want to do, I think it's a natural evolution to professional wrestling.

[00:02:04] You know, you get into TV, you get into, you know, movies, you know, we're, you know, we like to entertain. So if that's what you like to do, that's, you know, that's kind of a natural evolution of it.

[00:02:14] Yeah. What made you follow up with wrestling? I don't know. Cause I'm old school, you know, I'm talking about like Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, those types of days.

[00:02:21] Hey, look, I'm even older school. I'm, I'm seventies, dusty roads. I'm Stan Hanson. I'm bruiser Brody, uh, Wahoo McDaniel. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm pre nature boy, you know, Ric Flair type stuff.

[00:02:34] So, uh, it, it was always on around my house. You know, I, I grew up around grandparents and it was always on around my house. And, and that is just something that I always saw myself doing.

[00:02:48] How many years have you been doing wrestling?

[00:02:51] Since 1997.

[00:02:53] Wow.

[00:02:54] Uh, so 27 years.

[00:02:57] Yeah. 27 years.

[00:02:59] I mean, I'm still going, still going strong, still do a television program every week.

[00:03:03] Yeah. I saw that, you know, you're, you're huge at the indie scene also. Uh, was, do you enjoy that more?

[00:03:08] The indie scene compared to like, you know, things like WWE or, you know, now we have AEW, TNA and all that stuff.

[00:03:15] There are a lot of, there are a lot of, uh, boundaries when you work for a company, the size of, of WWE or, uh, AEW.

[00:03:28] There are a lot of boundaries. They put a lot of restraints on what you can do and what you can't do.

[00:03:34] Um, and I always told myself, you know, and, and, you know, this sounds kind of odd, but I've always told myself, I would much rather.

[00:03:43] Build something somewhere with a good group of guys as opposed to going somewhere that's already built and then just lending a hand.

[00:03:51] You know, it's much more gratifying to build something as opposed to, you know, be a part of something, you know, it's, it's just much more gratifying.

[00:03:59] And, you know, when, when I first came to OVW, it's, that's what I, that, that was a plan.

[00:04:05] I wanted to build something.

[00:04:06] Have I had opportunities to do extra work and stuff like that at those places?

[00:04:10] Yes, I have.

[00:04:12] Have I taken them a lot?

[00:04:13] No.

[00:04:14] No.

[00:04:15] No.

[00:04:15] You know, it's just, I feel there's much more freedom out on the indies to do what it is that, that you want to do and how you want to create.

[00:04:24] And, you know, I've, I've just been there.

[00:04:27] Yeah.

[00:04:27] And what's great about the indies too, you know, I don't want to stick too much to wrestling, but the great thing about the indies is like, even when you're watching like, you know, the big outlets like WWE and you see that huge indie wrestler, everybody knows it shows up.

[00:04:39] The crowd goes crazy with those guys.

[00:04:41] And, you know, the adrenaline rush on a good independent wrestling show is second to none, not to mention it's, it's much more intimate.

[00:04:51] It's much more, usually a much more intimate setting.

[00:04:54] You know, you don't have, you're not necessarily in arenas the size of stadiums where it houses 50, 60,000 people.

[00:05:02] And, you know, you're so far away from the people that it's, it's not real intimate.

[00:05:07] You just have to, you have to go to perform and then you go home.

[00:05:10] In independent wrestling, it's different.

[00:05:12] It's a very intimate setting.

[00:05:14] There's nothing like it.

[00:05:16] There, there really isn't.

[00:05:17] There is definitely a place in pop culture for independent wrestling.

[00:05:20] Right.

[00:05:21] Right.

[00:05:21] How many more years you think got left on you for wrestling?

[00:05:24] You know what?

[00:05:25] I couldn't tell you that Elias, you know, that's something that your body tells you right now.

[00:05:29] My body feels good and I'll leave it at that.

[00:05:33] You know, once it, once it says, Hey, it's time to go.

[00:05:36] Guess what?

[00:05:37] It's time to go.

[00:05:38] So you've been wrestling for so many years.

[00:05:41] What made you do the next step now to jump into the acting world?

[00:05:45] Opportunity.

[00:05:47] You know, that, that's one thing in wrestling.

[00:05:49] That's, that's how you get by.

[00:05:51] You learn to recognize opportunities.

[00:05:53] And, and if you don't take them, a lot of times you don't get second chances.

[00:05:58] And that opportunity presented itself.

[00:06:02] You know, it started with the documentary wrestlers that was on Netflix.

[00:06:07] You know, it turned into something much more.

[00:06:10] My agent said, Hey, they want to know if you want to read for this.

[00:06:15] You know, what am I going to say?

[00:06:16] Right.

[00:06:17] I'm definitely not going to tell Mr. Stallone.

[00:06:19] No.

[00:06:20] There you go.

[00:06:20] He gets what he wants.

[00:06:22] And he, he, he, he wanted a big foot.

[00:06:25] He got a big foot.

[00:06:27] Well, any like challenges like you faced while making the shift from like wrestling,

[00:06:31] ring camera, not being on TV camera, or do you feel like you were very comfortable with that?

[00:06:36] I was very comfortable with that.

[00:06:38] Very comfortable being in front of a camera.

[00:06:40] It's a, you know, it, I've been doing it so long.

[00:06:43] It's, it's kind of become natural for me.

[00:06:46] The uncomfortability came with, you know, the, the people that surrounded me, you know,

[00:06:53] that was a little, you know, that was a, that was a lot to take in, you know, those guys,

[00:06:57] those guys are, are, they're, they're huge stars, you know?

[00:07:01] Just the opportunity to get, get to work with, with, you know, Sylvester Stallone and Neil

[00:07:06] McDonough, Frank Grillo, you know, Garrett Hedlund, J.

[00:07:10] Well, Max Cassella.

[00:07:11] I mean, all those guys, Annabella, Ciara, Tatiana, all those guys, man, all those guys are, are,

[00:07:17] are stars.

[00:07:18] And, you know, it, but you get used to it, you know, and they made me feel so at home.

[00:07:24] They felt, they made me feel like a part of the crew.

[00:07:26] And it, it was, it was a time.

[00:07:30] It was a time.

[00:07:31] How did the opportunity come up for you to read for Bigfoot?

[00:07:34] Did somebody saw you somewhere and said, Hey, let's bring this guy in.

[00:07:37] Like, what was the story behind that?

[00:07:40] Well, I've had an acting agent.

[00:07:42] I've been going out for roles for several years.

[00:07:46] And the wrestlers Netflix thing hit.

[00:07:49] And what I was told, I get the email that, that a show wants to know if cash flow will

[00:07:57] read these lines.

[00:07:59] Okay.

[00:07:59] I read the lines.

[00:08:00] I didn't hear nothing.

[00:08:01] I finally heard something and they tell me, Hey, you got the job.

[00:08:05] If you get a phone call from some, from, from somebody, you know, that you don't recognize

[00:08:10] it'd be best to pick it up.

[00:08:12] It happened to be Sylvester Stallone.

[00:08:15] Wow.

[00:08:16] And he, he tells me, Hey, you know, I saw this, this, this documentary on Netflix, you

[00:08:24] know, I want you a part of my crew.

[00:08:26] And, you know, like I said, I'm yeah, that, that, that opportunity is, is amazing.

[00:08:32] And I said, I am in, I am all in let's do it.

[00:08:35] When do you need me?

[00:08:36] Right.

[00:08:36] That's awesome.

[00:08:37] And it's great too.

[00:08:38] Cause like I wrote down here, you know, Bigfoot has become quickly a fan favorite.

[00:08:42] Like, how do you feel about like the audience reaction now with all this and your character?

[00:08:46] Hey, you know, um, it's good exposure all the way around, you know, it's, it's good for

[00:08:51] me, you know, it's been a bit overwhelming, you know, for sure.

[00:08:55] But, you know, when, when you get into stuff like this, you know, that's kind of what you

[00:08:59] sign up for.

[00:08:59] So, uh, you know, I'm taking it in stride and, and, you know, I appreciate everybody,

[00:09:06] you know, liking the character, you know, it really is a good character.

[00:09:10] I think the character of Bigfoot, you know, is tailor made for a role in a show like that,

[00:09:17] you know, because of the, the, the conundrum, you know, he, he's a big guy, he looks brutal,

[00:09:22] but you know, his, his personality is written to where he's, you know, nice and secure and

[00:09:26] polite, you know, I think that fits really well with the themes of, of Tulsa King.

[00:09:31] Like I said, the writers in that are amazing.

[00:09:34] The writers in that are amazing.

[00:09:35] And yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm just happy to be a part of it.

[00:09:38] Did you get a description of what the character of Bigfoot was supposed to be like?

[00:09:42] And did you like, when you read it, were you like, oh yeah, I can do this.

[00:09:45] Just let me jump right in.

[00:09:46] Did you feel like that?

[00:09:48] Um, I did feel like that.

[00:09:50] I didn't really get a description of the character.

[00:09:53] Um, I just kind of put my own, you know, I, cause you know, they say in acting, every

[00:10:02] character has a little bit of yourself in it.

[00:10:04] And I think that kind of shown through in the character and, and the, the parts that,

[00:10:11] that Bigfoot has that they wrote for Bigfoot, you know, but I think they did that on purpose.

[00:10:15] You know, they seen who I was, they seen how that goes and, and, and they wanted me to

[00:10:21] portray that, you know, like I said, that, that character was written.

[00:10:24] It fits very well in, in, in Tulsa King and in that crew.

[00:10:28] Did Stallone give you any pointers or any tips about this character?

[00:10:32] What do you want to see out of you?

[00:10:34] He's amazing to work with.

[00:10:36] That guy's amazing to work with.

[00:10:37] You know, he, he's, he's, he's, he's super creative.

[00:10:40] Uh, he's, he's constantly working how that man has all that energy.

[00:10:44] I have no idea, but you know, every time we had scenes together, he's, you know, Hey,

[00:10:50] you know, maybe can you do this or can you do that?

[00:10:54] Or, you know, maybe you should do this, you know, don't break eye contact.

[00:10:57] I mean, he's, he's constantly mentoring you because he has this vision that he wants to

[00:11:03] see.

[00:11:03] And, you know, he's, he's super focused on that vision and he knows what to say to

[00:11:09] somebody or, you know, how to, to guide somebody to get there, to read what it is that he wants

[00:11:16] to see.

[00:11:17] I mean, it's, you know, it was constant.

[00:11:19] It was a constant relationship.

[00:11:20] You know, it, it was definitely a mentorship and, you know, you can't beat that.

[00:11:24] Right.

[00:11:25] That's awesome.

[00:11:26] What can fans expect from Bigfoot journey pretty much in season two?

[00:11:31] I know you, you don't want to tell us too much, you know, like what can you tease about

[00:11:34] us, about this guy?

[00:11:36] Well, I can't really give too much.

[00:11:38] Let's just say Bigfoot is there because they need a hand.

[00:11:47] Okay.

[00:11:48] Maybe not so much physically, maybe, you know, maybe they need a, you know, a smile here

[00:11:55] and there, but I, what you can expect from Bigfoot is he's going to do what he's hired

[00:12:01] to do.

[00:12:02] And I think I'll just leave it at that.

[00:12:04] Bigfoot is going to be there and he is going to do what he's hired to do.

[00:12:08] I watched the last episode.

[00:12:10] We didn't see you that much.

[00:12:12] Are we expecting you more, bigger role throughout the season?

[00:12:16] We'll see more of you.

[00:12:18] What you saw is what I saw.

[00:12:20] Okay.

[00:12:20] You know, how, how they, you know, I know what I've done on set, how they portray that,

[00:12:25] you know, that is entirely up to them.

[00:12:27] I'm just like you and just like the rest of the world.

[00:12:30] I'm going to be watching, I'm going to be watching Tulsa King season two and, you know,

[00:12:34] we'll see, we'll see, we'll see how they, you know, I'll see how, we'll see how Bigfoot,

[00:12:41] you know, how Bigfoot is portrayed as, as, as we go along.

[00:12:46] Yeah.

[00:12:46] I had Tatiana on a couple of weeks ago.

[00:12:48] She said the same thing.

[00:12:49] She goes, we film a lot, but then sometimes you watch it and a lot of things get cut out.

[00:12:53] You don't know what you're going to see throughout these episodes.

[00:12:55] You don't.

[00:12:56] And that's true.

[00:12:57] You know, and first couple I've, I've seen, you know, parts like that, you know, you don't

[00:13:02] know if, where they're going to put stuff, how, you know, what they're going to, you just,

[00:13:05] you just don't know.

[00:13:06] And you're watching and you're expecting to see a good show.

[00:13:09] And, and I've, you know, I love the first season of Tulsa King and I love this season

[00:13:15] of Tulsa King, you know, I'm, I'm watching it just like everybody else, you know, is there

[00:13:20] a specific episode that you can't wait for the viewers to watch?

[00:13:23] Like we're getting out of 10 or 10?

[00:13:25] I know they're all good, but a specific one would.

[00:13:28] Nah, I, I, because I'm a fan of stories.

[00:13:31] I'm a, you know, whether it be the, the, the wrestling part of me, I'm a fan of stories.

[00:13:35] I like the complete story, you know, and that doesn't change, you know, that doesn't change

[00:13:40] even though I'm in it.

[00:13:41] You know, I'm a fan, I'm a fan of the story.

[00:13:43] I'm, I'm, I'm amped up to see where, you know, the, the final episode, you know, I'm,

[00:13:49] that's where the story culminates episode nines and episode 10.

[00:13:52] Yeah.

[00:13:53] I'm amped up to see how those play out and it, it's going to be good.

[00:13:58] You know, you know, getting to talk to the, the, the writers, you know, Terry winners, getting

[00:14:02] to talk to directors, Craig Zisk, you know, Josh Morrison, Greg, you know, I have no doubt

[00:14:08] they're going to make Tulsa King season two.

[00:14:11] It's already a smash, but it's just, it's going to.

[00:14:14] Oh yeah, definitely.

[00:14:16] They already talked about season three.

[00:14:17] I saw this.

[00:14:18] Talon was talking about it.

[00:14:18] One of his posts.

[00:14:20] Oh yeah.

[00:14:21] Yeah.

[00:14:21] Yeah.

[00:14:21] I've seen that too.

[00:14:22] I think.

[00:14:23] Yeah.

[00:14:23] Well, I want to end this by, I saw one of the Facebook groups on Tulsa King.

[00:14:27] Somebody wrote, I don't know how you feel about this.

[00:14:30] We need, we need a Bigfoot spinoff to see his journey continue on with something else.

[00:14:35] Hmm.

[00:14:36] Well, that would be, Hey, the Bigfoot character is, it can be a dynamic character.

[00:14:42] You know, there's a lot going on there.

[00:14:44] That's not being said, you know, why does he like to be called Bigfoot and not his name?

[00:14:49] You know, where did he come from?

[00:14:50] You know, he's from Kentucky.

[00:14:52] How did he end up out West with his cousin, Mitch?

[00:14:54] There is a lot to be explored there.

[00:14:57] I, you know, I, I would be totally open to that.

[00:15:00] I think it would be a compelling story to tell.

[00:15:03] And he likes egg whites.

[00:15:06] Do what?

[00:15:07] And he likes egg whites too.

[00:15:09] Now, from what I heard, he likes everything.

[00:15:11] Yeah.

[00:15:14] Amazing.

[00:15:15] Cash, uh, what's next for you?

[00:15:17] And you have anything else that you can promote about that you want to talk about?

[00:15:20] And I know we have Tulsa King, we have wrestling, anything else that, uh, you can tell us?

[00:15:24] I'm, I'm up in Louisville.

[00:15:26] I'm, you know, I've got several projects, you know, that I'm working on.

[00:15:29] You know, I do these television programs for OVW, you know, whenever I can, I'm, I'm out

[00:15:35] on the road.

[00:15:35] I'm doing appearances, you know, I'm working, you know, working just like, just like, you

[00:15:41] know, everybody else trying to stay busy, you know, and, you know, I, I'm, I'm a dad and

[00:15:47] I'm a husband too.

[00:15:48] So, you know, you juggle, you juggle that.

[00:15:50] It's just, you know, it's a lot.

[00:15:51] I get it.

[00:15:52] I get it.

[00:15:53] I got two kids myself.

[00:15:54] You, you keep going, you keep plugging.

[00:15:56] I mean, that's, that's been kind of my story, you know, it's the grind.

[00:16:00] So, you know, busy, busy.

[00:16:03] And, and, you know, and if I have anything super big coming out, I promise everybody will

[00:16:08] know about it.

[00:16:09] Amazing.

[00:16:10] Cash, let's end this by, uh, how can the listeners, the viewers find your social media,

[00:16:14] keep up with you?

[00:16:14] You've been posting about wrestling.

[00:16:16] You've been posting Tulsa King.

[00:16:17] Hey, all my social medias are the same.

[00:16:19] They're all at Cashflow Wrestler.

[00:16:21] Or my YouTube is at Cashflow Wrestler.

[00:16:24] You can find them all on there.

[00:16:26] Um, you can go to, if, if you're looking for any cool Cashflow swag, soon to be some,

[00:16:30] you know, maybe some Bigfoot swag, but you can go to chopstopwrestling.com.

[00:16:34] You know, you can find some cool shirts and some other stuff on there.

[00:16:38] You know, look me up.

[00:16:40] Yeah.

[00:16:41] Cash, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes.

[00:16:43] Let's hopefully we see you season three and we'll get you back on.

[00:16:46] We'll continue on the story.

[00:16:47] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:16:48] I appreciate you, Elias.

[00:16:50] You too.

[00:16:50] Thank you.