Borash longed to be on 'CCO but makes Impact in ring

Jeremy Borash has a bigger following than he would have if his greatest childhood ambition had been realized. He wanted to be an afternoon talk show host on WCCO-AM.

Sweet Borash, host of "Impact Wrestling" on Destination America, which airs Fridays at 8 p.m., has become a world-traveling, mega professional wrestling play-by-play announcer and sometimes ring foil. Here's video of him getting his head shaved: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm94rZQg1LE.

A former intern at KDWB-FM and KSTP-AM and former producer for former WCCO-AMer Ruth Koscielak's now defunct radio network, Borash has become a pop culture figure.

Hosting a live cooking show for TV's "Dinner: Impossible" and "Restaurant: Impossible," chef Robert Irvine brought Borash back to the metro last weekend, when they were at Mystic Lake Casino. I had planned to do a video Q&A with Borash, with whom I reconnected on Twitter — he's got 135K followers — but an unexpected commitment took me out of town. At least his parents, Andy and Ruth Borash, got to see their now-engaged son. Borash expects to have a destination wedding in the USA with his fiancée, Jade, a UK resident, later this year. As you'll read here, they do know how to have a good time at Buckingham Palace!

"I am thrilled, honored and excited [that you're writing about me]. You were the first person [in the media] I called when I found out we were coming to Minnesota," Borash said Wednesday. "And the next time I come, I have to get you out to a wrestling event."

Oh, I think I'd prefer a cooking show, I told Borash, who devolved into laughter familiar to my ears.

"No, you …" Borash interrupted himself, laughing again, and conceding that "you probably would."

A: It started in Minneapolis in a little Christian radio station and I interned with a bunch of people; obviously, you know Ruth Koscielak. From there I started working for World Championship Wrestling, which is Ted Turner's organization. Long story short, got into wrestling, have been doing it since 1999. Through that I met with Robert Irvine the chef and numerous others. I'm working for Howard Stern now, too, doing some voice-over work. I've met a lot of people through wrestling.

Q: Did you ever imagine making a living, and a good one at that, doing this?

A: When I was younger, the only thing I wanted to be was be an afternoon talk show host on WCCO radio. That was my goal. That was my biggest ambition. I would have made it in life. I pinch myself every day that I get to be on TV doing this. I travel all over the place. Between working for Chef Irvine and Impact Wrestling, it's usually 20 countries a year, all 50 states. It's a tremendous amount of time on the road.

Q: Did you telephone Ruth while you were here?

A: I have not. We've sent some texts back and forth. I've tried to find her. I tried on Facebook. I couldn't, so I didn't really, uh; I probably could have asked you. You have contacted her.

A: Yeah, that's what I kind of gathered. That's why I let that be. I made the initial contact.

Q: Ruth Koscielak was ahead of the curve of career supported through social media. If she tried to do that radio show now, with her fan base, she would be in the mix.

A: Yeah. In the time when she was trying to do something new, the radio industry was changing so fast. It still changes fast, but whatever she would be doing right now probably would have worked out better for her given timing and technology. She was one of the most amazing talents I've ever worked with; great, her personality.

Q: So I missed the opportunity to cook with Robert Irvine? I'm bummed.

A: There'll be another opportunity, I'm sure.

A: He is married to Gail Kim, one of our female wrestlers at the company I work for, so he started coming to our live shows. Once he said he was starting his own live tour, he hired me to host that because he saw my work with wrestling. That was about three years ago. So the weekends I'm not doing wrestling shows, I'm out with him doing those live shows. It's a rare mix of wrestling and the culinary world. Very similar. More parallels than you'd think.

Q: Are your muscles like Irvine's?

A: No, but most of the people I work with, [their] muscles are like his. Unfortunately, mine are nowhere near that. However, the funny thing is, when I'm out on the road with him, he makes everybody go to the gym with him. You have no choice. If you don't feel like working out, you can get on the cardio machine.

Q: Where do you have to eat when you return home?

A: There's a little place call the Lone Spur. It's been there for 20 years. That's always my guilty spot, every time.

A: No. I met that beautiful fiancée when I was on tour in England. She actually is moving [to the States]. We've been together five or six years. I do a lot of television over there, so I go over there usually once a month. Other than that, it's a lot of Facetiming.

Q: I hear that you and the fiancée engaged in the horizontal mambo in a very regal setting?

A: My fiancée and I [christened] Buckingham Palace. [Laughter] We went there for a party and, yeah, we slipped out, we said we had one chance to do this. This was a couple of years ago. I had some friends who were working for the queen, in a royal position … had a bunch of us over one night, right there in the quarters.

Q: Any chance you're going to be invited back to Buckingham Palace?

A: [Extended laughter] I wouldn't count on it! That's a funny story, one we can always keep in the back pocket.

A: They haven't told me that yet. I'm still trying to figure it out.