The Stunner was backstage all night long at the Starland Ballroom for Fight Factory Wrestling‘s massive event, No Thanks Given. While the action in the ring was reshaping the company, the conversations backstage gave us a look into the personalities driving the brand.

We had two very different conversations on this night. On one hand, Graham Hartmann caught up with the intense Ken Dixon, who had plenty to say about his disdain for the Garden State. On the other hand, Rob Posani sat down with the Silk City Kings (Ray Pitman and Kenny Bengal), two guys who embody New Jersey pride and style.

From debates about Wawa sandwiches to the design process behind custom ring gear, here is what went down.

Ken Dixon: “My Favorite Part of New Jersey is Leaving”

Before his war with TJ Marconi, Graham spoke with Ken Dixon about his preparation. Dixon, never one to mince words, made it clear that despite wrestling in a legendary NJ venue, he wasn’t happy about the location. He also broke down his aggressive musical taste, citing Pantera and Hank Williams III as gym essentials, and reminisced about finding ECW on fuzzy late-night TV channels in the 90s.

On Hating New Jersey & Wawa:

“I’m not a fan [of New Jersey]. It’s a little overpopulated for me. The people are kind of rude. So my favorite part of New Jersey is leaving New Jersey… You guys don’t have Sheetz here, so I can’t stop at Sheetz. I gotta settle for like a bum-ass Wawa or something, right? With like the wackest sandwiches ever. Or I power through and I got to stop at a Turnpike service station with the awful pre-made burgers… it all just kind of lends to wanting to get out as soon as possible.”

On Discovering ECW as a Kid:

“I found ECW because I was living in Indiana in ’95, ’96… for the old heads, it had the UHF and the VHS knob on the TV… We’d find it on like the sketchy, kind of static-ed out channel at like 11 o’clock on a Saturday night… When I found it, my mind was blown. I watched WWF and WCW because I just loved wrestling. But finding ECW and how raw it was, and like there was something about it being so, like, almost bush league that made it so appealing.”

Silk City Kings: Matching the Fly

Rob Pasbani chatted with the Silk City Kings, Ray Pitman and Kenny Bengal, ahead of their Tag Team Championship opportunity. Unlike Dixon, these two represent Paterson, NJ (“Silk City”) with pride. They discussed their chemistry, their surprisingly different taste in workout music, and revealed that Kenny Bengal actually designs their custom gear himself.

On Designing Their Own Gear:

Kenny Bengal: “I’m not a seamstress, but I do design it. I do draw it up on the laptop, you know, and I just send it out and yeah, that’s how we get our gear.”

Ray Pitman: “We always say like we got to always stand out… So he got to match my fly. I got to match his fly. We always got to be shining out there too. It’s just how it is.”

On Their Gym Playlists (Trap vs. Rock):

Ray Pitman: “I like Trap Rap… Gucci Mane is my favorite rapper. So is Lil Wayne… I’ve been on the PR movement, that’s Young Dolph and all of them. That’s what I’m into.”

Kenny Bengal: “For me… I was different from my peers. So 2000s rock music was my thing. Like Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Breaking Benjamin… those are my things.”

Check out the full interviews above to see the contrast between the haters and the hometown heroes, and make sure to subscribe to The Stunner on YouTube for more exclusive backstage access. See more interviews from the show here, and watch the full event here.