Dave LaGreca: Building a Brand That Went Over the Top (Replay)

Why This Story Matters Now

Larry Samuels 0:02

Hello and welcome to a special encore presentation of No Wrong Choices. This episode features Sirius XM's Dave Lagreca, who helped turn an idea for a weekly wrestling show into Busted Open, one of the most successful brands in sports entertainment. Dave and Busted Open have been in the news lately following the exciting announcement that Sirius XM and WWE have launched WWE Radio, now the official audio home of WWE, with Busted Open serving as the channel's flagship daily show. We thought this was the perfect time to revisit our conversation with Dave to hear how it all began. I'm Larry Samuels, and I'll be joined in just a moment by my co-hosts Tushar Saxena and Larry Shea. Now let's go back to January of 2023. This episode features an entrepreneur who sold an idea that became an absolute winner. Dave Lagreca, the creator and host of the Sirius XM Wrestling Show and now brand, busted open. Now, Tushar, I know you have a long history with Dave, so you are undoubtedly the right person to lead us out today. So take it away.

Tushar Saxena 1:10

I've known Dave for a long time, well before his days at Sirius. Uh, I've known him and his brother, his brother Don for many, many years. I've known him uh for more than 20 some odd years. Um, I'll tell you what, uh, you know, his success with Busted Open is unbelievable because he's not the only person who ever thought of this idea over at Sirius to have a wrestling show. But what I am interested to try and find out and dig in with him a little bit is how did that finally push through? You know, at some point, someone finally said, you know what, we got to have a wrestling show here at Sirius. We got uh we gotta have a wrestling show here at Sirius, and this is the guy to do it. At what point and who was it that helped him push through and knock through the knock you know, knock that final wall down and then turn busted open into what it is today?

Larry Shea 1:57

I'm excited to have this conversation with Dave. He's one of the good guys in the business, right? Like I know him really good. I knew him from serious days early, and just always a guy you could talk to and go to and you know find out something or work out a problem that was happening professionally, and just one of the good guys in the business. And you love watching those good guys succeed and knock it out of the park, right? So, this is a great example of a guy who really busted his ass and then had a dream come true just because he was willing to do it. And and I'm excited to hear his story and how it really happened.

Larry Samuels 2:32

And he had so much success that his face is now on a t-shirt, which you can get uh somewhere, I don't know where. Anyway, uh you can see him on TV, etc., etc. So, with no further ado, here is Dave Lagreco.

From Producer To Accidental Host

Larry Samuels 2:46

Dave, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dave LaGreca 2:48

I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

Tushar Saxena 2:50

All right, Dave. So now you're a huge star. You've signed, you're, you know, you're signing contracts all over the place. If people put on uh put on uh you know WWE Raw, there are big heads of you all all throughout these arenas. Uh I gotta know, because I mean I've known you for a long time. I've known you for a a long, long time. You started out as a producer, you know, back in the day, or before even before I knew you at Sirius, you started out as a producer doing sports shows. Did you ever see yourself going from the producer seat to this seat? And how did that journey happen?

Dave LaGreca 3:28

Uh I didn't actually. I actually when I was producing and I was producing at WFAN and NHL, and even when I started at Sirius, I had no aspirations of being on air. It was never something that I wanted to do. I I actually enjoyed producing. Um, I loved it. Um, I got a thrill out of it, and I kind of just fell into this, believe it or not. Um myself and Doug Mortman, who's a VP at Sirius, we were pushing for Steve Cohen, who is he was the VP of sports uh for Sirius, to do a wrestling show. And it was we didn't have any aspirations of actually hosting the show. Um, we just thought it would be a good idea to have a pro wrestling show as part of our sports catalog. And it just so happens when the opportunity was given, it was also given to host it. And uh that's and I actually fell into it that way. I it was never something I really pushed to do. When was that, Dave? That uh Busted Open premiered uh the first show uh was April of uh 2009, April 28th of 2009. And when you hear that date, it sounds kind of odd because it was actually after WrestleMania. You know, you would figure that it would start before WrestleMania or immediately after WrestleMania, but that wasn't the case, you know. You know, love serious XM, but hello. Um but uh it started like you know at the end of April in 2009. And it started out once a week for an hour, and then you know, obviously, um as time went on it expanded from there. So full disclosure, we're colleagues, right?

Larry Shea 5:18

Sirius XM, right? Absolutely. So I'd see you in the hall producing, you know, doing your thing. I mean, you you were always so professional, but I knew you loved wrestling, I knew you really wanted to do this. How many times did you pitch this? Like you must have gone into Steve Cohen's office a hundred times saying this is what needs to happen. Here we go. Here's the pitch. And give us the pitch.

Pitching The Show And Getting In

Larry Shea 5:40

How did you do this?

Dave LaGreca 5:41

Well, that's where Doug comes in because Steve Cohen uh seems to have problems with his hearing whenever I'm in his office. Oh, jeez. So and and uh and and obviously uh he loses his uh efficiency for time management as well.

Tushar Saxena 6:00

Um should we send a copy of this uh particular episode to Steve's office the second it goes live?

Dave LaGreca 6:08

And it also seems like whatever else is going on around him is much more important than whatever I have to say. Um so I've I pitched it many times, but um Doug Morton was actually the one that agreed with me, and it was really him pushing it, probably more than me, that got Steve Cohen's attention. Um, and uh and then giving us giving us the opportunity. But again, the opportunity was one hour once a week, and we weren't getting paid to do it. It was just like here, if you want to do it, you know, don't let it affect your day job and go to it. And that's and that's what Doug and I did.

Tushar Saxena 6:45

All right, so you and Mort are able to eventually get the show on the air. Now, were you surprised by the early success, uh early success of the show? Or shall I say, oh, I'll take it back because obviously the show the show is now successful. Were you at all concerned whether or not the show would be successful? That's the real question I should ask.

Dave LaGreca 7:05

No, I I mean it wasn't it wasn't like one of those opportunities where it was like, all right, we have to knock it out of the park right out of the gate. You know, this was kind of like, here you go. It's you know, at Sirius XM was a completely different animal back in 2009. You you were able to get an opportunity like we were able to get much easier than now. Like this show would probably never have seen the light of day now. Um, you know, at least the infancy model of it with Doug and I would probably be more like what it is now with a Hall of Famer, you know, as a co-host. But um, so we didn't really have any expectations at all. Uh, but probably like by the second or third week that we were doing the show, uh the phone lines blew up. And that that's something that really, really surprised me. I wasn't prepared uh for this for it to be as successful as it was so early on.

Larry Shea 8:01

Guys, does it is it sound familiar to you at all? A once-a-week radio show that you're not getting paid for, that they're giving you an opportunity to be. Yeah, well, we see you're the successful version of what we were back in the day, right? Um, but it's lightning in a bottle, right? Like you really like the phones lighting up like that, you caught lightning in a bottle, and there was there was uh they were starving for it, it turns out, Dave, right?

Dave LaGreca 8:27

Well, I also I also think that um, and I think the show that you guys did was definitely uh outside the box. Um, and it was you know a combination of a lot of different things, um, and you know, based around you know, sports talk radio. I I think a big reason why Busted Open was so successful was that there there was no other wrestling show. So like if you're a wrestling fan and you're and you're in your car listening to Sirius XM, the the only outlet is is Busted Open. You know, there's you know when it comes to NFL talk, sports talk, there's so many different outlets. It's very, very difficult to get a grip and and to kind of look be looked at differently than everybody else because there's so many different options.

Tushar Saxena 9:17

You

Early Calls Prove The Demand

Tushar Saxena 9:18

definitely have a captive audience, yeah.

Dave LaGreca 9:20

Yeah, and then and also at that time, guys, in 2009, there wasn't the podcast like we have now. I mean, you know, our show started long before this influx of pro wrestling podcasts, so there wasn't a lot of outlets for wrestling fans to listen to other than bust it open.

Larry Samuels 9:36

So, Dave, you you got all those phone calls coming in the first couple of weeks. What happened then? Like, you know, you had this revelation like, holy cow, we've got something here. What were your next steps?

Dave LaGreca 9:47

Well, then that's when you start saying, All right, this show is more than just one hour once a week. And then slowly we started to expand, but it was slow, and that's when you got to convince you know the executives that this is a viable show and that it needs to have a platform, and that was the most difficult thing to do. Uh the want to do it, the passion to do it, that was never in question from Doug and I. It was it was really just getting the opportunity, and it, you know, and because of the position that Doug had at the time at Sirius XM, which he still has, and then you know, what I was doing to the executives, that was much more important than this pro wrestling show. So it was trying to convince them that there's more here than what they're actually seeing, and if given more time and given a bigger platform, how we could have the opportunity to knock it out of the park.

Tushar Saxena 10:44

All right, so during that, during the early infancy stages of this show, did you at any point say to yourself, uh, because I I cause I I remember, you know, I had discussions with your brother as well, um, and then obviously with you, and you still seem to be kind of reluctant at times to say, okay, I want to be an on-air, I want to be an on-air personality. Even during the infancy stage here, were there still moments where you're saying to yourself, okay, you know, let's get this show off the ground, and then I can go back to being I I want to be the best producer I can be.

Dave LaGreca 11:14

Yeah, I mean, I never would have imagined that this show would have been, you know, which it is now, six days a week, you know, three hours a day. That wasn't even in my mindset. Like that, that I didn't even think that was even possible back then. I just wanted to, you know, be able to have a bigger platform to talk pro wrestling. I I I never would have thought that, all right, one day I won't be on NFL radio anymore, and that I won't be producing anymore, and I'll be a full-time host. Like 2009, 10, 11, 12, that didn't even feel like that was even an option. But right, but soon after that, that's when I was like, all right, this is something I know could be much bigger, and this is something that I know I could do on a full-time basis.

Tushar Saxena 12:00

All right, I'm gonna ask you, I'm gonna ask you two questions. They're gonna be related and not related at the same time. One is when did you finally say to yourself, I'm an I'm an air, I'm an on-air guy, and this is my show, and this is what I'm gonna do. And then two, obviously in the early stages when you and Mort are saying, you know what, we should, we need to have a pro wrestling show here on Sirius, or just in general, we need to have a pro wrestling show. What was it initially that uh what was it initially that attracted you to say, you know what? I think this is something that, or this is something that I have a real passion for, the pro wrestling, the you know, pro wrestling world. Because I mean, you know, you're not the only person who ever who ever pitched a pro wrestling show over at Sirius. I'll even go, you know, full disclosure myself. I had done that a couple years prior to you doing that. And the same thing, it was thrown back in my face, and it was like, well, you guys are crazy, no one's ever gonna listen, blah, blah, blah. I had a lot of other things going on at the time, so I kind of gave up on that, even though I should have pressed hard like you. So, you know, it you're not the only one who who went to the door and then got got it shut in your face, but you know, your obvious perseverance,

Going All In After WrestleMania 30

Tushar Saxena 13:06

uh, your obvious perseverance paid off in the end.

Dave LaGreca 13:09

Yeah, and then Doug and I decided to, you know, do some shows on the road. So we we we did a couple post shows after WrestleMania at sports bars, and it was the one at WrestleMania 30 that was like, all right, this this this is ridiculous. Now this is something that needs to be, you know, on a bigger platform, and and and this is where I now have to completely focus on this show because we did the post show at WrestleMania 30, and we did it at a bar called bar a sports bar called Walk-Ons. And, you know, we were hoping to get maybe 15, 20 people, and we had probably about a hundred and fifty between 150 and 200 people there.

Tushar Saxena 13:52

Wow.

Dave LaGreca 13:53

And that's when I was like, all right, and it was all like, you know, people that were fans of the show.

Tushar Saxena 13:57

Where's Walkons? Where was Walk-Ons?

Dave LaGreca 14:00

It was um uh I would say in between uh the Superdome and uh Bourbon Street.

Tushar Saxena 14:07

So it was in New Orleans, it was in New Orleans, yeah.

Dave LaGreca 14:09

It was in New Orleans, it was like in the industrial area of New Orleans. Okay, so um, you know, that's when I was like, all right, this this this is an animal here. This is much bigger than we ever thought. This is this is where we need to go all in. And that and that's more difficult than it sounds as well, because you know, Doug Morgan at the time, and he is, he's a VP with Sirius XM. Like, that's not as easy to be like, all right, Dave, I'm I'm I'm folding this and then I'm going all in on that. It's a very difficult situation. So I had a much easier position where I what I was doing to be able to go all in, and and and that's when you got to make tough decisions as as a host and as a team, who's all in and who's not. And at that point, that's when I was like, all right, I'm all in.

Larry Shea 14:54

Right. Okay, okay. So before we get into that, I mean, I'm just listening to this, and you know, it it is it's remarkable, really. And I guess the question comes to me if you didn't have that takeoff, that that wow, this is wildly successful beyond our wildest dreams, would you have kept doing it for nothing?

Dave LaGreca 15:14

Yes. Um, I mean, listen, you know, my life is completely different now with a family and the home and everything else. It's easy, it was much easier then than it is now. Sure. But um, but yes, I mean, I would have definitely have done it for nothing. But there got, but there came a point where, and you guys realize this too, and uh, and hopefully people who are listening to the show need to realize you gotta know your worth. So it's great that you got an opportunity to do something that you love. But when you know you have something successful and you know it's bigger, that's when you gotta be like, all right, you know, I'm I'm I'm listening you gotta recogn, I need to be recognized here. Right. And uh and and and I think early on, I just loved the opportunity to be on the air, but then it was probably right after WrestleMania 30 where I realized, okay, this this is something where all right, you're you're you're getting something, you're getting content that people really love. So now uh I I need to be recognized for that

Knowing Your Worth And Finding Allies

Dave LaGreca 16:16

fact.

Larry Samuels 16:16

So, you know, Dave, I was gonna ask you a question about what all in means, and we'll get to that in a second, but I think you know, let's sort of dig into that worth. Like, how did you define that? Who did you look to for guidance to say, hey, we've got something here. How do I value this? How do I make sure I'm being treated appropriately?

Dave LaGreca 16:36

Well, I mean, Doug, Doug Mortman, who was my partner and my brother early on uh during the early stages of Busted Open, uh, I think he recognized it and he was kind of like he blurred the lines of being an employee and being an executive because he was kind of uh on that fence at that time, uh, where now he's solely on the dark side. Um I kid, but you know, you know what I mean. Yeah, but um, but like, no, then that's when you really that that's when you really have to go to that next step where you're telling the people that are in charge that I know how successful this show is, I know how popular it is, I see the phone lines, look at these live shows. Uh now you gotta find people, a team guys, that uh that believe in it. And and I was able to do that because we were on a channel called at the time it was called Sirius XM Rush, which is now Sirius XM Fight Nation. And there was Marissa Revis and Andy King who were a part of that channel that believed in the show. So I knew I had people on my side that are were decision makers. Yep. And once you have that, then then then you can go to that next step.

Larry Samuels 17:56

So so you kind of went from producer to creator to host. Now it seems like you're taking a step into being an executive producer. Did you also become a business person through this?

Dave LaGreca 18:10

You have to be. You kind of have to adjust, and that comes in time. I definitely wasn't then, but I am now. Uh, because then then you see other opportunities that you can use your popularity. Uh, and and that took a long time for me to come to grips with. I never saw myself as a quote-unquote personality or a viable personality. I thought it was more about the show and the brand. Uh, but then you realize that that you are that. And um you have to it it takes a lot, it takes a lot of time to understand it. And that's not ego talking. I do it with all humility, but you know, you do have a have to

Becoming The Brand Beyond Radio

Dave LaGreca 18:48

have a little bit of an ego and understand that of course, you know, and and and it's something that I still experience, like it's it's still surreal to me. Like I went to the AEW pay-per-view uh the weekend before last, full gear, and you know, hundreds of people were coming up to me asking for pictures and autographs. And when you start seeing that type of thing happening, that's when you realize, all right, I could start branching out as well. And and and I think this brand and myself uh as an individual has been able to do that.

Larry Shea 19:20

So this is a good time to ask this question, then. When was the first time you saw your face on a poster or a t-shirt and it was staring back at you? Do you remember the moment where you're like, holy crap, look at this.

Dave LaGreca 19:32

I do. We had our um 10-year anniversary celebration in New York, um, and we had it at a again at a sports bar, and um, we had 750 people in attendance, and um, which was a problem because the restaurant bar that we were in only fit 600.

Speaker 5 19:52

Oh boy.

Dave LaGreca 19:53

Uh and the the manager of the restaurant actually pulled me aside and was like, you know, we're we we gotta we gotta put a stop to so we actually had to turn people away. Um and because the the they were close to calling the fire marshal because there was so many people now in the building. Yeah, and that and that's the first time I started seeing the Lagreca heads, and then that night uh there was a new Japan Ring of Honor show at Madison Square Garden, and there were Lagreca heads in the audience, and that was that was like holy shit, you know.

Tushar Saxena 20:26

Like Did you bring one home to show your wife and say hi?

Dave LaGreca 20:30

No, I mean it wasn't, but that's the thing you know, those are people who actually made them. They weren't mine. They I they weren't it wasn't like those people that were with those heads. I knew. You know, those were people that were fans of the show that created those heads. And uh to see it at Madison Square Guard, that was like a wow moment. And then, you know, then you start seeing it on TV. I couldn't.

Tushar Saxena 20:53

When I saw that for the first time on on uh on WWE on Monday Night Raw, I was like, What am I looking at here? I couldn't believe that. I couldn't believe I was thinking, is that Dave LeGreca's face?

Dave LaGreca 21:05

And then it was kind of it was kind of crazy at uh the pay-per-view I was just telling you about, full gear, there were six different you know, Legreca heads in the audience, and then there's signs, and and then you see people wearing your t-shirt and and stuff like that. So it is it is surreal, and um, it's something I really appreciate because the fans of this show have been you know so loyal and and tremendous.

Tushar Saxena 21:29

So when did uh when did the show then because I I know that through the the iterations of the show obviously started with you and Mort, and then uh I think you your next couple of hosts were retired wrestlers, so to speak. Tommy Dreamer, Taz uh was another one. I'm trying to think of maybe I think you had a couple of others in there uh as well. Um, but when did the show finally begin to or when did the show finally begin to break through with the wrestling or with the wrestling entities themselves, WWE, NWA, uh, you know. uh that that that ilk.

Relationships That Changed The Trajectory

Dave LaGreca 22:02

Well I mean we've always had a pretty good relationship with the organizations even early on um in in you know going back to 2009 but it was in 2016 when uh Andy King and Marissa Revis you know called me into an office and said hey we're we're gonna go we're we we're gonna go with you know five days a week uh for busted open and you know you're uh you know you're going to uh it was like a week before the Super Bowl so they were like you're gonna go to the Super Bowl and that that that week on radio row for the Super Bowl that's gonna be your last week as a producer uh when you come back that that Monday you're gonna be uh full time on busted open so hold on hold on so so from 2009 through 2016 you were doing both jobs yes and how many days a week was it from let's say how many days a week was it from prior to 2016 being uh or how many days a week was it at that point? By that time it was three days a week.

Larry Samuels 23:07

Oh my god Dave what a workload Jesus yeah so we were I was do uh still producing Sirius XM NFL radio in the morning and then I would do uh bust it open in the afternoon at that time and then and then 2016 is when they gave the green light for it to go five days a week and then that's when they told me you know you're off NFL radio this is your full-time gig that's incredible that's incredible you know uh when did you start to sort of cross over because I know you've been hosting things on streaming platforms etc etc when did you bust out of radio into television?

Dave LaGreca 23:46

Uh that's just that's just come with time. Like I've been given opportunities like most recently the WWE having me host one of their kickoff shows for their NXT pay-per-view that's just happened like the one thing about pro wrestling it is a community and everybody seems to know each other and everybody understands uh what Sirius XM what busted open's become so that honestly is just come in time just opportunity and and I have always looked at busted open as not just it's not to me it's not a serious XM show. To me busted open is a brand and busted open is many things. Busted open is a Sirius XM show busted open is a podcast uh busted open is our a social media platform you know at one point we're on YouTube but we we we don't do that as of right now but that may change in the future so there's a lot of different stages and platforms to bust it open and then that goes back to what you asked about before with me becoming a character or a personality with that comes other opportunities and and and it's coming I'm very thankful for it.

Larry Shea 24:54

So the let's talk about the the transition from radio to TV you know that that because it's really coming out from behind the microphone and I know not everybody has had an easy transition to come out from behind the microphone and to have video be part of the experience did you have to do a lot to prepare yourself? I mean these are high energy performances these are high energy events how did you prepare yourself to come out from behind the microphone and and get into that television world what was that like well I was nervous about it and um I the one piece of advice that I got was just be yourself just be just do everyone kept telling me the same thing just do you just be you so once once I realized that it's cake man I because I just you know when I do the show and and obviously on the SXM app there's video of the show and there's also obviously video on social media every day um I I I'm I am animated you know the camera's on me all the time sure so um it's actually rare when it's something like this where it's just audio most of the time there is video so I am animated and and and and that and and that's what I've been doing for for quite some time now.

Dave LaGreca 26:11

So it was is actually an easy transition.

Larry Samuels 26:14

So Dave when you look back at your journey you know you've mentioned you know different people that we know along the way and I don't want to give them credit before credit is uh is is owed or deserved but you know who are some of those those people who pulled you along some of the the bigger relationships

Breaking In Through Internships And Reputation

Larry Samuels 26:30

that made a really big difference for you well I mean you know I mentioned Marissa Revis and Andy King um they were instrumental in getting this show uh on the right path who are they with they uh well Andy King um is no longer with Sirius XM but right now Marissa Reevas is uh head of our podcasting department got it um at Sirius um uh Doug Mortman who uh was my original co-host um I wouldn't have been able to do it without him he was uh part of the foundation of this show and then my co-host over time you know you mentioned like Hall of Famers Mark Henry Bully Ray Tommy Dreamer you know now Mickey James and and Thunder Rosa these are big names within the industry so I understand the impact that they have and and it's and it's a such a great dynamic on this show where I'm always going to be the fan and then I have the actual performer that I do the show with so though those are the people that you know obviously have helped this show and then you know and you guys know my brother Don you know I you know we grew up together you know Don and I when we were little kids used to do pretend radio shows in our bedroom you know like um and Don's gone on to uh great success not on a national level like I am you know he's local second dig of the program I think that was intended for somebody yeah you know he's dig in the the tri-state area but I'm national uh no but you know like obviously being around Don and and and and seeing what Don has been able to accomplish and I kind of took a page from Don's book because when you look at Don one of the things that separated him from everybody else is Don was a hockey guy.

Dave LaGreca 28:22

He really like he he was hockey. So there wasn't a lot of people especially in the tri-state area that talked hockey. So he was able to find that niche and it grew into something much bigger than that. And I think I've done the same thing with wrestling.

Tushar Saxena 28:39

I actually will I'll admit too is that uh in the early years of Sirius um when they started the when they started the hockey channel uh your brother Don a very good friend of mine as well uh was one of the original hosts him and uh him and Jim Cerny um and I had the opportunity to board up board up that show and much like you uh I was doing my own producing duties and uh other uh other duties during the day but I would come in two and a half hours early to work to work that show and then I would work the I would work the hockey show and then I have to do my regular my regular job from like six till two in the morning. So it was it was as crazy. It was as crazy. So but that was the early days of series.

Dave LaGreca 29:23

Yeah and and and you and and it's funny that you say that because yeah yeah you did it because you're passionate about it. You saw something and NHL Live which is that show that's grown up yeah that's gone that's grown into like you know a a huge uh TV uh program and that started on the city I think that predated I think that predated the network right yes it did.

Tushar Saxena 29:46

Oh so I mean like so you can see the actual transition from like you know hockey was wondering like the NHL was wondering where would their where would their audience go or would they be receptive to an all hockey format. Obviously they were and then obviously it branched out into the into the next stage. So I mean you know uh it was it and you're right in saying that early the early years of Sirius were a lot like the the wild west in some senses where you could like do almost anything and if it worked it worked if it didn't it didn't but it didn't really hurt anybody. And yeah as as the years have gone on you're correct you know now that they've gotten a lot more successful they are a lot more about the bottom line yeah and that and that just comes in time it comes with time it comes with time.

Dave LaGreca 30:30

Yeah Sirius XM is huge now when when I first started there in 2004 nobody has even heard of Sirius. You know nobody knew what that was it was a new concept and now it's obviously you know with with the ever

Mentoring Others And Paying It Forward

Dave LaGreca 30:43

changing world of radio you know terrestrial radio is uh completely different than it was and localized radio is completely different than it was and Sirius XM is in every car every you know so it's it's it's completely different.

Tushar Saxena 30:58

Okay so you obviously found a niche and exploited it um and Don your brother we you know as you said he's the hockey guy so he exploited that niche. Now did you take a little bit of I wouldn't say uh did you uh did you take some of what he did and say okay you know I'm I'm trying to find my own niche and then you know are those is that something transferable to others like can you say to others hey look you know if you're going to try and get a show you've got to try and find that perfect niche for yourself and then exploit that or is this or are these kind of anomalous situations?

Dave LaGreca 31:31

It's a great question because I don't know the answer because at the time like I said you know when my brother was getting into the hockey there wasn't a lot of people that talked hockey you know especially in this area now it's there still aren't frankly there still aren't yeah but but like there's so many more outlets where people can listen to hockey talk. And it's the same thing with wrestling you know I just feel like the the the you got to be able to build an audience. What's the best way for you to build an audience is it on on podcasting is it on social media is it YouTube like you got to find your own niche that you're comfortable with and then once you find that then you hope you put it out there and that people can relate to you and that people can relate to the product that you're putting out and that you build an audience. And once you can build that audience then you then then you're fine because then you could go anywhere because then you know that you have that army of people that support you.

Larry Shea 32:27

Okay at the risk of losing flow I want to kind of encapsulate your journey here though because I know there's a lot of people out there wondering you know how did he get there though you know and and we usually start at the beginning and we didn't start at the very beginning. So I I've heard you and your brother used to do radio shows mock radio shows right so that's that's lighting a spark obviously that's creating this this dream and this fascination with radio you you somehow end up at Sirius XM producing NFL radio and how does that happen? Did you have formal training? Did you go to school for that stuff? And then once you get to SiriusXM NFL radio how does that production stuff propel you and prepare you to do what you're about to do with this amazing project? Well I mean I it started in school like I I majored in broadcasting in high school and then again in college um so that's something I always wanted to do and then uh I worked for WFAN uh as a producer uh you know I started as an intern um and then worked my way up from being an intern to a board operator to a producer and then uh based on my work at FAN then I got a job at ESPN and then from there I got a job with the NHL and then from the NHL is when I got a job with Sirius XM and then and but they're all uh in production it was all being a producer a radio producer producing sports talk radio shows when you say get when you say get a job though like was that a relationship was that a you know I went

Biggest Wow Moments And Dream Guests

Larry Shea 34:00

there was an open call I saw something somewhere how does it happen that you get you literally go from FAN one place to another because those are some big names right how did you get in the door in those places?

Dave LaGreca 34:10

Well first of all like you know I always say you know make sure you get an education because that's where it starts you know you you you know I went to school for communications and then from there there was open internships and there was an open internship at WFAN and it was unpaid and um you know it was weeknights and weekends so you know you have to make that sacrifice to know that hey any spare time that I have is going to be spent you know working and not getting paid which I was completely fine with because you know this is what I ultimately wanted to do. So it started with an internship that was so vital um you know to be able to work in an industry and at a station that you grew up listening to and now you have the opportunity as kind of like all right for the next three months I'm gonna show them what a good worker I am. And and I was able to do that and get a job. And then once you get once you're in you're in. So this whole industry is word of mouth so it's very very important that you show everybody that you're around and everybody that you're working for that you're dedicated and that you're a hard worker. The last thing you want is anyone saying any negative thing about you because that's gonna hurt. You know it it seems like this is a big circle but it's really not it's very it's a very small community. So um every opportunity that was given it given to me I did it my absolute best. I mean two of the things that we've talked about now that were so vital in my career was my internship at FAN which I didn't get paid for. And as I said for the first almost seven years that I hosted Busted Open I didn't get paid for it. So like you have to be willing to sacrifice and uh and get your name out there and to build your name. And that's how I was able to build a reputation that people knew that if they invested in me they were going to get a hard worker. And that's why how I was able to go from FAN to ESPN to the NHL um because like you said those are those are big name brands.

Tushar Saxena 36:22

All right so actually I was going to say that just a second ago you're right is that while this is a big field in a lot of places and a lot of towns it's a small community everybody speaks to everybody and everyone kind of knows everybody and you're right your reputation follows you wherever you go so you can never you can never really shake off if you're a jerk, people gonna know about it. If you're a great guy people gonna know about it. So I I agree with you 100%.

Dave LaGreca 36:45

Yeah and too sure like like us or all of us here talking we all know each other we all worked for each other. So if you if you found out all right well this person was a producer at Sirius XF, let me call Dave and see uh what he knows him see if he knows him right yeah see if he knows him and I might say you know he's a hard worker but man he's a pain in the butt. Then you're probably gonna be like well is it worth it so like it's very very um important that you keep your reputation intact and make sure that everybody knows that when your name is attached to something they're getting the absolute best.

Tushar Saxena 37:23

So Dave have you now found yourself becoming more of a mentor than to those around you because obviously you are now a veteran over at Syria. So there are going to be people coming now who look to you and say oh my God that's Dave LeGreca now you know to the three of us or to the three of us like that's Dave LeGreca. We knew him when he was we knew him when we was when he was a producer you know great guy but you know there you are Dave LeGreca host of host of Busted Open fat heads on TV you know you're you're you're a real big personality. So how have you been able to a try and try and you know uh I guess navigate that world of being a mentor and you know kind of you know keeping your ego in check or have you been able to do that? Do you even want to do that?

Dave LaGreca 38:10

Well I mean I I'm always like and it's a blessing and a curse because you know I'm busted open and Paul Ehrlich and Gabula Spisa are are our producers on the show and they do a great job. But I but I understand what they're going through. I know what they what they are going through because I was a producer so I can help them and I I can help mentor them because I know I've been there I was doing it for you know 15 years of my life was

Ownership, Side Hustles, And Where To Find Dave

Dave LaGreca 38:37

being a producer. So um that that that never that never goes away. And that kind of goes back to some of the people who helped me you know like you know an Iron Eagle or um a Bruce Murray those are guys that you know at some point they were producing shows you know like you know they they go back to that era. So um I'm always going to do that but but even more so now um in the in the community of pro wrestling I get a lot of people that look to me like all right how did you do this? And I get a lot of people that may have a podcast and like how can I take this show to the next level and uh and that's something I I really really enjoy. Funny because yesterday I I was in a phone conversation with uh somebody um Lars Frederickson who's the singer for Rancid who you know he plays guitar for Rancid and uh he has a uh a pro wrestling podcast which is awesome um and he called me was like all right well how how do I get to how how can I get this show to the next level so like my God I I I feel like you almost have an obligation um to the to our community that when you do do something that you you pass that that knowledge on to other people because I think it's important because there is going to be that next generation I'm 51 now so um you know there are so many people that are 25 30 years younger than me that are getting into this into this industry so I feel like it's almost like my obligation to help them that they need it.

Tushar Saxena 40:16

All right so I do have one question. What was the what was your one oh my God I can't believe I'm here moment uh thus far in your career I I think I have I think I know what it is but I want to hear I want to hear what you you think it is.

Dave LaGreca 40:29

Well what's your guess of what you think it is uh your roast when you got roasted by Ric Flair well I I didn't get roasted by Ric Flair uh but I did get roasted and we had um it's funny that you it's funny it's funny you said Rick. So never mind right never interview is over everybody but no but it's funny you said that because the next day after my roast I saw Ric Flair and Ric Flair is like why didn't they have me roast you so it's funny actually funny that they that you said that because he's my all-time favorite but that is a good one um and the fact that this past April um there was a a Dave Le Greca roast and um you know I I was like oh my gosh this is like the first time where it's on me like it's not it's not a busted open show. It's not Mark Henry or Tommy Dreamer getting roasted it's the I'm on the marquee it's the Dave Lecca roast. So I was like oh my gosh like I I I really hope that this is well attended

Hosts’ Takeaways And How To Follow

Dave LaGreca 41:32

because if it isn't then it's a reflection on on me. And uh we had over 1200 people. Yeah it was at an amphitheater in Arlington uh right next to right next to where the Texas Rangers play and um it was pretty shocking even the people that were a part of the roast they were like oh my god like I thought this was gonna be like three or four hundred people and then it wound up being over twelve hundred and yo thank you so much for giving us this time I got you are like way too big time for this show so it was funny because like the manager of the amphitheater came up to me and was like man we have concerts like we have bands come here like foreigner that don't that that don't draw you outdrew the foreigner that's as as much as as this and I was like wow like it was it was pretty it was pretty crazy and Marissa Revis uh put that together and it was pretty awe inspiring and you know that was where it was like wow okay you know this is this is something that I never would have dreamed and then yeah for my roast for the Dave Lagreca roast you know there was over uh 1200 fans in attendance so that was that was definitely that moment that was like that that that was that was a wow moment for me.

Larry Shea 42:53

Assuming Rick Flair wasn't one of the roasters who were uh who were the roasters uh we had um we had uh Lance Archer uh from AEW Nick Aldis who at that time was the NWA world heavyweight champion Tasha Steeles of Impact Wrestling um and then we had um my wife and my co-host you know Mark Henry Tommy Dreamer Bully Ray uh were all part of the roast so it was it was it was pretty cool so who's the dream guest then you must you have Cachet now right you can get whoever you want it seems like with that kind of a turnout give me that one guest that you haven't been able to book yet that you're like we gotta get this person on the air you know what that's a great question because I have been lucky enough to pretty pretty much interview everybody in the wrestling world you know from Ric Flair to the Undertaker so now it's kind of like when you get those guests from outside the wrestling world.

Dave LaGreca 43:52

Sure yeah so like though those are the type of guests that you're like wow you know and you know like I'm a huge Alice Cooper fans, so when Alice Cooper was a guest on the show, uh, that was like a big deal to me because you know, I I I I never would have thought that, but also it's like when you find out that there are people that are fans of of yours that you would never expect to have were fans of yours, and then those are the things. And and one and and she's no longer with us, but somebody who was somebody who was such a great guest and somebody who became like a really good friend of mine uh before she passed away was Tony Catane. Yeah, really?

Tushar Saxena 44:35

Wow, wait, the Tony Catane?

Dave LaGreca 44:38

Yeah, Tony Catane.

Tushar Saxena 44:40

From Bachelor Party?

Dave LaGreca 44:41

Exactly. From Bachelor Party, which is one of my all-time favorite movies, and you know, and she was she became like almost like a character on our show. And um, you know, we became good friends. And it's it's like it's like moments like it's like, man, I was I was watching her when I was a kid. Yeah. White snake video. Yeah, remember the white snake video? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was watching her maybe sometimes with just one hand. And oh R.I.P.

Tushar Saxena 45:13

Tony. The other one was waving to your friends who were passing.

Dave LaGreca 45:18

I eat a lot. I eat a lot. So I you know, I always had like a sandwich in my right hand or whatever. Right. So, you know, so I was always eating. So um very hungry man.

Tushar Saxena 45:29

Yeah, very, very hungry. Very hungry as a younger man. Very hungry.

Dave LaGreca 45:33

So maybe I had a nice glass of lemonade in my hand.

Tushar Saxena 45:36

I understand. I understand.

Dave LaGreca 45:38

So um, but it's those moments that I've I really find like, you know, those are special moments. And she was such a sweetheart, such a great person. And um, you know, and Ric Flair, being able to, you know, in my eyes, the greatest wrestler of all time to be able to interview Ric Flair was like a dream come true.

Larry Samuels 45:57

So, Dave, what's next? You know, we've talked about television branching out a little bit. What's the the broader vision, if there is one?

Dave LaGreca 46:04

You know, I I kind of enjoy what I do. I want to see this show expand. I want to see this brand get bigger, and I just take every opportunity one day. I'm I'm really like, you know, you have your bucket list. Like I I've I've I've completed my bucket list, but at the same time, um, I've done things that I never thought I would have been able to do. So I'm still like looking for that next opportunity. Like I don't take it lightly. So it's not like it's it's not like I don't have goals for myself. I do, but I kind of like leave myself open at this point where it's like whatever you want me to do, I'm up for the challenge. Like I I I really I really want to do more television. I'd love to expand to do more radio. And I love the brand of busted open and I love pro wrestling. So I'm not really looking to change worlds. I love the world that I'm in right now.

Tushar Saxena 46:57

Who owns Busted Open? You were uh you were serious.

Dave LaGreca 47:00

Serious? Okay because it's now at that point where it's like I guess it's intellectual property.

unknown 47:08

Yeah.

Dave LaGreca 47:09

Is that the right term? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right. Yeah. So um, but they don't own me. So um, you know, I've I've I have my own hot sauce, you know. I uh you know, I have my own t-shirts. You know, busted open has at podswag.com have their own merchandise, but I have my own personal merchandise on Pro Wrestling Tees. So um they own the brand, but you know, and and I'm completely fine with it because they gave us the platform, but you know, but but they don't own Dave LaGrecka.

Larry Shea 47:42

Was that hard to work out with them or was that pretty easy? You just have your own stuff and they have their own stuff.

Dave LaGreca 47:46

Yeah, it was um it was it wasn't it wasn't very difficult, you know. There always always gonna be a certain person that may try uh to stop it, but I I I I'm smart enough and I know my worth, and I have an agent that uh that makes sure that you know I'm protected.

Larry Shea 48:04

And and how much you ch how much you charge on Cameo, by the way? 25 25 bucks. He he branches out everywhere.

Larry Samuels 48:11

So, Dave, you know, what an incredible story for people who may not know you prior to having you know stepped into this episode. Where can everybody find you? What things should everybody know about?

Dave LaGreca 48:23

Well, you can follow me on social media platforms at David Legreca One, the number one, David Lagreca, the number one. Um, I'm available, you know, Busted Open is Monday through Saturday, uh 9 a.m. to Eastern Time on Sirius XM uh channel 156. Uh the Busted Open Podcast, which has been a hit, uh, that's available wherever you get your podcast, Busted Open Podcast. Uh you can get uh Busted Open Merchandise at podswag.com slash busted open, or you could get Dave Legreca merchandise on Pro Wrestling Tees. Um and also, as I mentioned before, um I have my own hot sauce at Lagreca's Rage.com. It's a great hot sauce. I think you'll love it. Perfect gift for the holidays. And then as you mentioned, I'm on Cameo. Um Cameo. I'm of course on Cameo as well.

Larry Samuels 49:14

Awesome. I think we have to get Touchar a Dave Lagreca cameo for his birthday. I think that would be a nice thing for us to do.

Tushar Saxena 49:21

I'm gonna give myself a Dave Legreca tea. I don't want to sign it.

Larry Samuels 49:25

Dave, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you guys. I appreciate it. Good luck with everything. Yep, you too. What an incredible conversation and what an inspiring guy who really was successful at not only having a vision and bringing it to life, but also he gave me an idea to get Touchar on Cameo. I think it can be done. Touchar, I think we have a chance to put you out there in a different way. Anyway, what an incredible story.

Larry Shea 50:00

But they'll do it for Dave Lagrecas. Correct. Um, what a great guy. I mean, you love to see the good guys win here, right? But he gave us so much in that interview about how hard he worked, how willing to work he was, willing to work for free. He said he would have done it for free. I mean, this is a true labor of love for him. You can feel it in everything that he talks about. Um, but he just hit on so many wonderful things about how you get to successful places in life. Um, the radio industry is a small industry, right? Your reputation is important and relationships matter. I love to hear all of those things laid out in front of us because these are the things that we preach on this show all the time. So when you see a good guy win because of those techniques, it's just beautiful because it reinforces everything that we're talking about here on this on this podcast.

Tushar Saxena 50:49

And I'll say it again is that I am surprised by how successful and it's not and I don't want to come off like it's jealousy. It's not. It's just that the amount of success that the show has garnered is shocking. Like I did not, I mean, I expected Dave LaGrecka to be successful. Like if he wanted to be if he wanted to be a successful producer, he'd be a great producer. But what he has turned busted open into, it's really a franchise. It's turned he's turned it into a franchise and it's and an extremely successful franchise. I'll say it again. The first time I saw his face on, you know, and uh WWE uh Monday Night Raw, I was like, am I really seeing Dave LaGrega's face? I mean, it was it's one of those surreal moments you have. It's like, you know, I've known this guy forever, and now he's here. I'm like, what planet am I on? It doesn't sometimes it doesn't even it doesn't even seem real. That's how that's how shocking his success has been.

Larry Samuels 51:45

Yeah, and you know, I think uh another and you know, it's funny, we we often come up with titles for our podcast and the conversations around the interviews, and and one of the things that I'm thinking about right now is dreams do happen. You know, this is a guy who with his brother, you know, when he was younger at home, uh pretending that they had a radio show rehearsing while watching wrestling leading into a roast years later, like dreams really do, you know, if if you're lucky and you put yourself out there and you have the courage to try, they really do come true. And Dave LaGreca is is a is living proof of that.

Larry Shea 52:25

I I guess my only regret with this interview is I didn't I've heard that wrestling staged, and I didn't get the opportunity to ask whether it was staged. I'm glad that would have been a wrong choice.

Tushar Saxena 52:37

That would have been the wrong choice.

Larry Shea 52:39

I thought there were no wrong choices. Um this is this is a great conversation, and he he tells you the tools. He gave us the tools, right? Listen to this interview, and he can tell you how to let your passion become your profession. And and it's all laid out for you, and it's beautiful to listen to, and it couldn't happen to a better guy. We love Dave Lagreco.

Larry Samuels 53:01

Absolutely, just uh an incredible story, an incredible person, and uh, you know, we want to thank him for joining this episode of No Wrong Choices. As I mentioned off the top, Dave and Busted Open can be heard on Sirius XM's WWE Radio. We want to thank you for checking out this best of edition. We'll be back with new shows in the fall. In the meantime, please be sure to follow or subscribe to No Wrong Choices wherever you're listening right now. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. On behalf of Larry Shape, Tushar Saxena, and me, Larry Samuels, thank you again for joining us.