WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:07.599 This is WWW Superstar Drew McIntyre, and you're listening to the w w E 2 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:25.800 podcast god Show, the one that everybody wants me Godot three sixteen and says, 3 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:33.799 just clips your ass is moder You're gonna like now the train Alberty. 4 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:37.399 But welcome to the current state of w WE of got Anthony de Margo with 5 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:42.039 me tonight on this Monday May eighth, as Monday at Raw is being filmed 6 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.960 right now, it is live right now. We are unaware of who is 7 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.560 going to win or is winning the triple Threat, the two triple threat matches, 8 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:53.759 and the final person who's going to emerge from that as the person who's 9 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.479 going to the finals. We have no idea as always, just giving you 10 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:59.640 a precursor because we're going to talk about the triple Threat matches, the World 11 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:03.840 Everywhey Championship. So Anthony, welcome to the showman. How you doing and 12 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.799 how did you enjoy Backlash? I thought it was a good show. I 13 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.000 thought it was something that or something a pay per view that over delivered. 14 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:18.280 I think that being in Puerto Rico set the stage for a very very good 15 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:23.040 and active crowd, and I think that WWE has been on a very good 16 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.400 run with pay per views and the crowd reactions, like thinking back, like 17 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:32.840 the last like pay per view that the crowd didn't really feel special was probably 18 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:37.319 Survivor series. But even at that Survivor Series was branded as war games, 19 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:40.799 so the crowd had that extra incentive. And then the rumble was in a 20 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.840 stadium. We know what manshreal was for the elimination chamber wrestlemating at Puerto Rico. 21 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.719 They've just been doing a really good job under Triple H, and he 22 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.719 has had his flaws. But one thing I have to say about Triple H's 23 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:59.959 regime here is that every single pay per view has felt special under him. 24 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.400 It's a good damn good point. You know that. That is something that 25 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.719 I don't think fans have really appreciated or or have even realized they appreciate, 26 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:13.879 is that under Triple H, even if the raws, that the regular weekly 27 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:16.360 rows and smackdowns have been not always perfect, they're never going to have a 28 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:22.240 perfect show. This is something that has been staple of Triple H's Every pay 29 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:27.400 per view has over delivered, whether it was in the ring or storyline, 30 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:31.159 or just doing the right thing booking wise. That is one thing Triple H 31 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:37.280 can hang his hat on or this under his under his guidance. And on 32 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:39.879 that quick note, just so if you guys are interested, a CNBC article 33 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.039 came out with yours truly in it. I have a couple of quotes. 34 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:49.919 It's basically just talking about Vince McMahon and the merger with Endeavor and my thoughts 35 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.400 on it. So you see a couple of mentions in there from me with 36 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:57.159 our WW podcast, So check it out if you want to take a look. 37 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.400 I'll be putting it on my stories on Instagram, which you could find 38 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:04.560 me a w B Underscore podcast and on Twitter, so it'll be easy to 39 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:08.840 find if you want to just google it searched CNBC WW and you'll be able 40 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:13.280 to find it pretty quickly. So but yeah, moving on to your point, 41 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.560 Yeah, I really think that's a great point to bring up, and 42 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:20.280 without going into too much of backlash, I want to ask you about the 43 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:25.520 match between Brock Lesner and Cody Rhodes because that match was unexpectedly bloody, which 44 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:30.000 I love and makes you just miss blood so much. And there's debate whether 45 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:36.599 or not that was intentional on Brock's behalf, but ultimately Cody gets the victory 46 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:40.199 with a roll up reversal of the camera and he is victorious. What did 47 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:44.879 you think about it? Is? Well, I thought that this was a 48 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:49.000 match that they were going to have a tough time booking because it kind of 49 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.039 felt like a match that neither guy could afford to lose. And that might 50 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:57.280 sound weird talking about brock Lesner, someone who's probably gonna retreat back to Saskatchewan 51 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.039 now until summer Slam season, and a guy who is a made man and 52 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:04.199 doesn't need victories, But I do think that there's something to be said about 53 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:11.680 keeping the legitimacy behind brock Lesner. And save for his victory against o'mass at 54 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:15.879 WrestleMania, it had been a while since brock Lessner had won like a legitimate 55 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:21.560 one on one match, like a big name or a big, highly stouted 56 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:26.680 one on one contest, And thinking back to it, since he returned to 57 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:31.360 WWE in the summer of twenty twenty one, I cannot remember at one on 58 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:36.279 one match aside from Omas, that brock Lessner has won, like even against 59 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:40.680 Bobby Lashley, did he not? Oh no, he did beat Bobby Lashly 60 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:44.920 with that roll up in Saudi Arabia, But you know, he just hasn't 61 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:48.839 had that one dominant brock Lessener victory in a one on one fashion since he 62 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:54.600 returned, and that's why I thought maybe he was going to, you know, 63 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.439 get the one up here on Cody. But they did a good job 64 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.920 of protecting Brock with the role up Finnish, and obviously the blood added a 65 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:05.000 lot to the drama of that match. I would argue maybe it would have 66 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:11.759 been better to have Cody maybe lose another match and maybe have him face some 67 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.720 adversity, And it's kind of like a long term storytelling perspective, like really 68 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.399 make the friends really want to see him get back on the horse and into 69 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:24.439 the winning column. But I understand, especially with the impending tournament for the 70 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:28.360 World Heavyweight Championship which we're for sure going to get into now, you want 71 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:30.959 to get one of your biggest stars back on a winning page and get some 72 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:34.759 momentum behind them. So I mean it's something that I think they could have 73 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.120 gone a bit differently, but ultimately it was the safest route to go. 74 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:44.279 Yeah it was. And look by Brock Lesner, should he be losing a 75 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.480 match in real life to Cody, of course not. But Brock Lessner is 76 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:50.360 not at the stage in his career that you need to protect him in a 77 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:55.160 way that you're concerned about the future of ww A rock Lesner. If he 78 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.839 disappeared off the earth tomorrow, god forbid, the w W would do just 79 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.160 fine. You know, not to say he doesn't add, but he's not 80 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:06.279 the future. Cody is much more the future, and he's going to be 81 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:12.720 imminently in this World Heavyweight Championship tournament. And again we'll get to that momentarily, 82 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.240 but that this is the right call because it also does protect brock too, 83 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:21.319 because it wasn't like Cody hit his finish and then brock Lessner as clean 84 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.040 as you can possibly win or lose, and that's not what happens. So 85 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:29.759 with this being a roll up finish, I don't hate it. I thought 86 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:35.800 it was the best possible outcome because while roll up finishes are just hated generally 87 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:42.240 among fans, it's simply because of its overuse and it's crutch for booking rather 88 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:46.759 than when it's actually appropriate and good to use a roll up in this scenario. 89 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.759 That's why I think a lot of some fans that didn't like the finish 90 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:54.240 looked at the roll up and go stupid roll up, but you forget that 91 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:57.920 there are scenarios where roll ups actually make sense, and this is a scenario 92 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.399 in which it made sense. It made Cody looked like he didn't get lucky, 93 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:05.959 but he outmaneuvered Lesner without outright beating him, So protects Lesner in that 94 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:10.199 sense. So I had no issue with this. And the match quality, 95 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:14.319 of course, was physical bloody love that. Any final thoughts on this before 96 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:17.199 we dive into this tournament, No, just that I think that it was 97 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:20.439 a match that really over delivered and it made you kind of want to see 98 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.959 more of Brock Lesser versus Cody Rhodes. One of those matches that you didn't 99 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:28.519 really know you wanted until it was given to you. And it makes you 100 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:30.800 wonder if maybe they could have drawn out this program a bit longer and not 101 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:36.480 just have had it as like a one off following WrestleMania exactly. So all 102 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:40.959 right, well, let's less dive into this tournament. Man. I was 103 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:46.000 wondering how they were going to format this in terms of competitors and who is 104 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:48.199 selected, and how these people were selected to be in the tournament in the 105 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:54.079 first place. I doubt we're gonna get that explanation, and it is what 106 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.800 it is. So we've got now two triple threats. We've got one triple 107 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:03.120 threat happening on Raw, Triple Threat happening on Raw, and in the same 108 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:07.120 night tonight, those two individuals will compete at the end of Raw. Imagine 109 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:11.040 in the main event, that person will be in the finals, going to 110 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:16.079 Night of champions insaide Arabia to compete for the World Have you a Championship? 111 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.399 I have no problem with this except for the fact that SmackDown is now involved 112 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.040 in the same way to triple Threats. Do you have any explanation or can 113 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:35.120 you give WWE a pass on this? Well, it's tough for me to 114 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:41.320 say because you literally just went through the process of splitting the roster. You 115 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:48.919 just brought back the brandswin Triple H's first time heading up the WWE draft, 116 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:54.639 and right off the bat, you are doing something that kind of what's the 117 00:08:54.679 --> 00:09:00.279 word I'm looking for, circumvents it and you're going to have a SmackDown competitor 118 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:05.759 competing for the World Heavyweight Championship. Now, there is a simple explanation. 119 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:11.639 Maybe Smackdowns officials didn't know about this tournament, and if one of these SmackDown 120 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:15.879 competitors, and just looking at the list, I would imagine that the guy 121 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:22.240 who has the best chance to win it is probably AJ Styles, maybe Edge, 122 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:26.320 but like maybe if they win, then they could be the World Heavyweight 123 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:31.759 Champion and just move over to Monday Night Ross. Simply that simply us enough 124 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:35.720 for me to say, ay. But the one thing that bothers me more 125 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.720 so than this that the SmackDown competitors are involved in this tournament is the fact 126 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.200 that you know that one of the SmackDown guys is going to be in the 127 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:50.960 finals. So not only is SmackDown going to be involved in the tournament, 128 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:56.120 you know that the finals is going to feature a SmackDown competitor. I've seen 129 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.639 rumors of it being AJ Styles. Looking at the list, my guess is 130 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:03.480 that it will be AJ Styles. But right off the bat, you're going 131 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:07.759 to be going into Saudi Arabia kind of expecting the raw guid'll come out with 132 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:11.840 the championship. And let's just for argument's sake, say it's Cody Rhoades versus 133 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:16.440 AJ Styles. You know, you can't say with one hundred percent Curtady that 134 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.759 it will be Cody Roads, just because, like I said before, they 135 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:24.039 could make it as simple as, Okay, you won the World heavy Championship, 136 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:26.120 so you're going over to Monday and Night Raw and SmackDown will get like 137 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:31.960 a compensation prize or what have you, but you're automatically going to be leaning 138 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.639 more of Monday and Night Raw. Whoever that representative that representative is, whether 139 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:41.360 that be Rawlins or Roads or what have you. So I don't know why 140 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:46.320 they went down this road. I know that it's probably best for promotion, 141 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:50.879 because you're going to be promoting the new World Heavyweight Championship and this tournament and 142 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:56.080 the pay per view on both shows for two weeks straight here, But just 143 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:03.120 from the perspective of predictability and just trying to keep the integrity of the draft 144 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.080 that literally is going into effect tonight, I don't really understand why they went 145 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:13.919 down this road. Yeah, it feels and I hate to say, but 146 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.320 it feels very Vince mcmanish to do something like this where you know, you 147 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:22.679 you immediately just violate the rules of the draft, which, by the way, 148 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:26.240 the draft's not even in effect yet and they already violated it. I 149 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.159 mean, that's a record, and so I'm not saying Vince McMahon was directly 150 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:35.240 involved in this decision. That's all speculative. But what I do know is 151 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:43.000 with SmackDown involved, it does really inherently take away from what the draft is 152 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:46.600 supposed to be. Two separate worlds. Okay, everything's locked in place. 153 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:48.759 On May eighth, We're good to go. Let's go. You stay here, 154 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.279 I stay here, and we'll just do our own thing. And we're 155 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:56.840 instantly, not even waiting a week, instantly having a cross brand match, 156 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:03.639 and that's going to happen at Night Champions, and presumably if the SmackDown person 157 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:05.840 wins, they would come to Monday Net Raw, because Triple H told us 158 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.159 this belt is for Monday Night Raw. It's going to be on the brand 159 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:15.039 that that that Roman reigns is not on. Thereby, the belt will be 160 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:16.919 on Raw regardless of who wins, which means if it's a SmackDown Star, 161 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.279 they come to Raw. That's that's my assumption. I don't think it's going 162 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:26.200 to be a SmackDown Star regardless. This is all just kind of I think 163 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:28.320 WWE trying to make the best matches possible and they want to have the best 164 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.480 of both worlds. Because they want to have guys on SmackDown that are not 165 00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:35.399 on Raw to be able to put the best matches together. And it's already 166 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:41.120 their admission that they can't. They feel they can't have great matches with top 167 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:45.360 stars without including both brands. It's already an admission of one of the weaknesses 168 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:48.639 of the brand split. But that said, I mean, I would imagine 169 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.759 it's either Cody Rhodes or Seth Rollins that wins this whole damn thing. Can 170 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.320 you imagine that it's anybody else that wins this? Well? It was so 171 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:01.159 weird because I literally thought that it was going to be Drew McIntyre and he's 172 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:05.919 not even in the tournament. And I thought that Drew McIntyre was gonna win 173 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:09.759 and they were going to turn him heal, and then you're gonna have maybe 174 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:15.559 like a chase until Summer Slam of let's say a Seth Rawlins or Cody Rhodes 175 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:20.679 chasing a heel Drew McIntyre. But now that Drew isn't even involved, I 176 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:24.200 think it has to be Seth. It doesn't feel like it's going to be 177 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:26.159 Cody, like it feels like it's the two obvious choice and I feel like 178 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:31.039 they have more long term storytelling to do with Cody Rhodes, and that his 179 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.000 story is going to cap off in a bigger fashion. And it's weird to 180 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:37.000 say that, but in a bigger fashion than winning the world title in Saudi 181 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.399 Arabia. It feels like his story is going to be capped off by winning 182 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:46.879 the WWE Championship at like WrestleMania or something. So I think it's gonna be 183 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:50.240 seth Rawlins. It feels like it's a slam dunk to be seth Rollins in 184 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.320 my mind. But it's either him or Cody Rhodes. Like AJ Styles, 185 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:58.279 I guess as an outside shot, but I think that he's found a nice 186 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:03.080 home over on SmackDown coming out of the draft here. But I would imagine, 187 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:05.759 like to be honest, the only guy that I could see winning it 188 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:11.240 from the SmackDown side is Edge because him flipping right back over to Monday Night 189 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:15.120 Raw would hurt nobody. I mean, he would be back on the same 190 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.480 show as the Judgment days, so you'd have that to contend with. But 191 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.840 to be honest, I mean, aside from those two, and I would 192 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.360 say Edge is a better chance than any other Raw guy just because I think 193 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:30.159 that it's almost like a foregone conclusion that Seth and Cody will be the two 194 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:33.399 winning their respective triple threat matches. So I mean, aside from those two, 195 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:37.840 Cody and Seth, that is, I would probably say Edge has the 196 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:41.320 best chance, just because I think that the other Raw guys don't stand a 197 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:45.840 chance, and maybe because of Edges part time status, it would make it 198 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.840 easier to just flip him back over to Monday Night Raw, and he has 199 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:52.080 that history with the world title. That's not a bad pick because as you 200 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.679 said out, everybody else that is that was drafted between you know, theory 201 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:01.519 styles, Lashly, Mysterio, Shamus, Edge is the one that makes most 202 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.519 the most sense. If you're going to present the argument that somebody from SmackDown 203 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:09.639 should win and come to Raw, then Edge absolutely I have no problem with 204 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:13.360 that, you know, with Edge coming to Raw. But then again them 205 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.600 will have presumably a absentee champion over on Raw. Not to the same extent 206 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:22.159 as as Roman, but to some extent. I mean, I wouldn't imagine 207 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:24.639 Edge is going to be doing how shows and every Monday and a Row is 208 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:28.759 going to be wrestling, and ww has told us this person is going to 209 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:33.799 be a fighting champion. All of those boxes that ww is trying to check 210 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:39.399 with this champion seems to be either Seth or Cody. And I'm not trying 211 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:41.440 to put the fear of God in anybody, but there is and there is 212 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:45.200 an argument out there to be made that Roman reign still wins this now, 213 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.399 how considering he's not in the tournament, what if there's an injury or the 214 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:54.480 USOS or solo attack somebody on SmackDown like Lashly or a Mysterio or Edge or 215 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.480 Shamus and that person needs to be replaced all of a sudden, our replacement 216 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:00.480 a mystery man. Who's the mystery? Right? Maybe it doesn't happen on 217 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.519 Friday, but maybe it happens in the actual tournament. I mean, who 218 00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:07.279 the hell knows where it could be Roman Reigns. And the argument for that 219 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.879 is, well, WWE loves their first time ever, is what about the 220 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:17.720 first ever? Here's a mouthful WWE Universal World Heavyweight Champion. I mean, 221 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:22.120 it sounds insane, but the fact that they've already put Roman Reigns with two 222 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.399 belts on it's not it's it's I don't think it's going to happen Okay, 223 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:30.799 I don't want anyone think I'm that I'm advocating or predicting that. But do 224 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:37.399 you think there's any chance at all that that happens. I don't think so. 225 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.759 I just think you'd lose a lot of the trust in the fan base 226 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:42.559 if you did something like that. It would be hilarious. It would be 227 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:48.200 very bleeping hilarious. And I think you've said this a lot that you almost 228 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:51.639 just want to see it for what the reaction would be. But I don't 229 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.879 think they're going to do that. I think they actually want to see what 230 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:59.600 a Monday Night Row will be with a world title for the first time in 231 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.919 trip Lah's tenure as the head of creative, Like, let's be real, 232 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:07.240 since he took over, there has not been a consistent world champion on Monday 233 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.799 Night Raw, And like I said on our last show last week, it 234 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.039 looks like he's trying to structure things, at least from a championship perspective, 235 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.559 back to the way it was in the Ruthless Aggression era, where you had 236 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.599 the world title in the Icy Championship on Monday Night Raw, in the US 237 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.480 title in the WWE Championship over on SmackDown so I think they really want to 238 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:32.119 see what a Monday Night Raw can become with Triple H running it and a 239 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:34.799 world title all going on at the same time. And you look at some 240 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.880 of the guys over on Monday Night Raw seth Rawlins a Cody Rhodes, a 241 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:45.519 Drew McIntyre. If he returns Gunther eventually when he moves on from the Icy 242 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:52.640 Championship, they're going to need. Like they spent the past a year really 243 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.519 pushing Roman Reigns for a bit. They had him, you know, flexing 244 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:00.160 between both shows, but it got old very fast. He almost became exclusive 245 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:06.640 to SmackDown again very very fast, and you saw Raw very much suffer from 246 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:10.039 it. I think when Cody Rhodes returned at the Royal Rumble and he won 247 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.440 and became the number one contender, it kind of helped Monday Night Raw a 248 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:17.599 bit. Obviously the bloodline was carrying both shows. But if you really do 249 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:22.960 want to commit to a true and for the most part hard brand split, 250 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.960 you absolutely need a world Championship exclusive to RAW. So I don't think that 251 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:30.440 they're going to ultimately give it to Roman Rains, but it is a funny 252 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.759 thought just because of all the points we laid out, it would be I'm 253 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:37.160 sorry, I'm part of me does, the sick part of me, the 254 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.200 dark part of me does want to see how the crowd would react, right, 255 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:44.640 Like, what would they do if Roman Rains captures this belt. I 256 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.039 mean, again, I don't think it will happen for the reasons you laid 257 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.200 out, but it's I mean, it's at least the hilarious thing to talk 258 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.519 about. But that said, back into the world of reality, it has 259 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:56.640 to be, to me, either be Cody or Seth. Now, if 260 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:00.680 it's Seth, then I think the fans would absolutely embrace it. But if 261 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:06.359 it comes down to a final of at least on raw of Seth versus Cody, 262 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.359 I mean, it's that I would imagine is going to be the final, 263 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.440 you would think, and if it is, who to the fans cheer 264 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:17.920 for um and on SmackDown. If I'm going to make a prediction who is 265 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.279 going to be in the final, it's probably Edge versus h Well, AJ 266 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:27.279 Styles versus Shamus or there's a lot of baby faces in this so it's hard 267 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:30.880 to it's hard to gauge, but Edge versus Austin theory, Edge versus AJ 268 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:36.599 Styles is also on the ticket for me. Um, I think that those 269 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.119 two are you know, Edge and AJ Styles could absolutely be in the final, 270 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:42.319 and then it could come down to my god, Seth Rollins versus AJ 271 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.440 Styles at the at the event, there's there's really a lot of combinations and 272 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.319 none of them suck when it comes to wrestling quality for a night of champions 273 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.319 So, Um, the one thing I've also laid out, and I don't 274 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.200 know if you feel the same way about the Championship, is remind people about 275 00:19:56.200 --> 00:20:00.480 the lineage of it. Remind people what it meant, Remind people who held 276 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:03.240 it, because there's a lot of fans that you think that maybe WWE just 277 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:07.880 invented this out of nowhere and they don't understand what it meant, and that 278 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.000 it's not just the Universal Championship that they created out of nothing. That there 279 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:14.880 is a lineage and that's important. Do you think that they should do that? 280 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:18.480 Yeah? For sure. And coincidently enough, that's going to be the 281 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:21.640 topic of my retro this coming week. I was going to do it last 282 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:25.319 week, but then we remembered that I don't record a retro on pay per 283 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.519 view weeks. So that's going to be the topic for my show this week 284 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:30.079 and I'll go more depth on it, but just to kind of give it 285 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:36.079 at the cliff notes a bit like you look at the World Heavyweight Championship and 286 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:40.440 who held that, and obviously it was the successor to the WCW Championship, 287 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:44.440 but just looking at it in it's WWE days when they brought it back in 288 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:47.920 two thousand and two to be the main world title on Monday and net wrong. 289 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:53.839 You know, the only singles championship that HBK one upon his return to 290 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:59.359 the company in two thousand and two was the World Heavyweight title. The Undertaker 291 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.960 has not held the WWE Championship since two thousand and two, but he held 292 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:10.079 the World Heavyweight Championship several times in the late two thousands. You look at 293 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:15.000 the fact that the World Heavyweight Championship main evented WrestleMania on three occasions I want 294 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.960 to say believe were wrested twenty twenty one and twenty four. You look at 295 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:26.000 the iconic and historic feud between the Undertaker and Edge on SmackDown that was over 296 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:32.000 the World Heavyweight Championship. You look at when Randy Orton became the youngest world 297 00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:37.000 champion in history. That was winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Like these are 298 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:41.160 all things that I think people really need to go back and realize what this 299 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.839 title meant. And to your point, in two and sixteen, they created 300 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:51.039 the Universal Championship out of thin air, with no lineage, no history. 301 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:53.680 Why were we supposed to believe that this was put on equal footing with the 302 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:57.640 WWE Championship. But to ww's credit, they did a good job. Kevin 303 00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:02.720 Owens had a solid run with title. Brock Lesner held it for eighteen months. 304 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:07.319 He really legitimized it. But you can literally go back twenty five plus 305 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:11.319 years and look at the lineage of the WCW and later the World Heavyweight Title, 306 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.799 and it tells you all you need to know as to why you should 307 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:18.240 care so much about this belt coming back. I mean well laid out, 308 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:22.640 and I hope that WWE does something similar with just a couple of minute video 309 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:26.119 package. With how good they are at putting video packages together, this should 310 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:30.400 not be a big lift. And it's important because this is a title that 311 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.720 you're telling us is on equal footing with the WWE and or Universal Championship that 312 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:37.720 Roman Reigns is carrying, and it should be and there is something to be 313 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.039 said for who has held it in the past that matters, even if it 314 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.200 hasn't been around in the last six years seven years since they retired it and 315 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.359 now bringing it back. So what I mean, they've done that with the 316 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:52.000 IC Belt before too, And this is something that I think the fans need 317 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:56.519 to remember and or be educated on about the World Heavyweight Championship. And when 318 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.519 I think about it, to me that when I think of the World Heavyweight 319 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.920 Championship, all I can think about is Triple H from like, you know, 320 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.519 oh, what is it, oh three or oh four, to say 321 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:07.839 like he held oh two, maybe it was at two h three. He 322 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:11.759 held it for like two years straight, it felt like. And so that 323 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.319 to me, and in Triple H did a hell of it a job in 324 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.920 evolution carrying that championship. And you're right, Shawn Michaels in the elimination chamber 325 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.920 winning it his first night and then shortly thereafter dropping it. But there are 326 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:27.960 so many big names that have made careers off of this championship and helped make 327 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:32.480 the championship, namely to me, Triple H is just imprinted on my mind. 328 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:37.480 With the World Heavyweight Championship on on WWE, And so yeah, absolutely 329 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:41.319 that that's a great topic for this coming Friday's you know, retro show. 330 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:45.839 And I just hoped WW does this because there is so much invested into this 331 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.880 championship, you would hope they tell us how important it is and why and 332 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:55.079 why we should care so and for you do you think that what they did 333 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.839 by creating the Universal Championship and some of the guys who have only held there 334 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:04.279 that title as being regarded as a world champion, like let's say Finn Balor 335 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:10.559 or Kevin Owens or even Goldberg like he can win upon his return to the 336 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:14.880 company in twenty sixteen, he's only held the Universal Championship. To be honest, 337 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:19.119 Goldberg has never held the WWE Championship. He's only held the Universal or 338 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:25.440 the or the WWE or the World Heavyweight. Actually, so do you think, 339 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:30.319 because eventually I think we're gonna we're gonna see the Universal Championship get retired 340 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:33.640 in some capacity, Like eventually it's going to be it's going to go back 341 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:37.599 to just being known as the WWE Championship. It's gonna be one belt and 342 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:41.640 the lineage you see on ww dot com will be of the WWE championship for 343 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.359 before I go any further, do you think that's the likely road they take. 344 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:47.960 Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, because I mean, outside 345 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.559 of like just they they're different colors, they're identical looking championships, and I 346 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:57.240 think that's confusing for fans. And I think I'm overseeing guys with two championship 347 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:00.480 belts when they're telling us a single championship. Okay, we get it, 348 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:04.039 cool photo op. They've done it a million times. Great, let's if 349 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:07.359 you're telling us it's one championship, stop with the two physical belts, you 350 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:12.200 know, and and again outside of the way that they look, which is 351 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:18.519 literally just a different shade of color, there's no Yeah, that's it. 352 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:22.960 And I think having w W the w w E Championship prevail and just absorb 353 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:26.640 the universal isn't gonna make anybody lose any sleep. I think that makes total 354 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:30.200 sense because right now, in a weird way, there's three top belts and 355 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.640 even though Roman has one quote unquote championship, he has two belts and now 356 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:37.200 there's one on Raw, so thereby there's kind of three. I don't like 357 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:41.400 that. I want WWE to just create a just go yeah, like you 358 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:44.480 said, just create one belt, go back to w w E and you 359 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:47.160 can call it to w w E un Disputed Championship. Okay, fine, 360 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:51.200 like you know, just get Universal out of there. They did a good 361 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:53.039 job of, you know, building that up for what it was at the 362 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:56.359 time with the brand split. Okay, the other brand has to have a 363 00:25:56.440 --> 00:25:59.200 belt. Fine, they did a nice job, but I think it's time 364 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:03.839 that they cut down one of the physical belts with Roman Reigns and here, 365 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.279 and the other part about this is is that you go onto ww dot com 366 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.720 and if you look at their champion section, it still shows Roman Reigns being 367 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:17.680 the WWE Champion and the Universal Champion. Like, they're still regarded as two 368 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:22.559 separate championships on WWE dot com. So eventually they're gonna have to regulate that. 369 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.640 And this is the third time that they've unified world championships. They did 370 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:30.720 it in two thousand and one with the WWF and the WCW Championship. Eventually 371 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:36.519 it got made into the Undisputed Championship and then slowly but surely, it quietly 372 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:40.960 just became the WWE Championship again and it kept that lineage. And then in 373 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:44.920 two and thirteen, they unified the world Heavyweight with the WWE. In the 374 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.319 latter match between Sena and Randy Jordan at the TLC pay per view, it 375 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:55.759 was known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. They unified the titles following SummerSlam 376 00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:00.200 twenty fourteen when Brock won it, and then slowly and quietly it just came 377 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.039 known as the WWE Championship. So I expect that's where they go with it 378 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.559 again. But the difference is is that the last two times they did it, 379 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:14.359 you had the world title and its predecessor, the WSCW Championship, being 380 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:18.400 consumed by the WWE title, but it had all that lineage behind it, 381 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:22.160 so we would always remember it, and guys who had only won those championships, 382 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.799 like a Goldberg or like a Shawn Michaels, you would always regard it 383 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:32.519 as a world title because of the lineage going back into the early nineties in 384 00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:37.240 the WCW days, and I believe it derived from the NWA World Championship. 385 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:41.599 My question is is that when we look back five, ten, fifteen years 386 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:48.799 from now, will we consider a universal championship victory as a world title victory? 387 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:52.000 And you look at some guys like the runs that they had, like 388 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:56.920 Seth Rawns in twenty nineteen when Brock held it for eighteen months from twenty seventeen 389 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.640 to twenty eighteen, braun Stroman's a guy who only world title he's ever held 390 00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:07.400 is the Universal Championship, the phene Bray Wyatt, Like, I'm just wondering, 391 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.279 do you think that eventually, and in my opinion, inevitably, when 392 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:15.319 they do retire the Universal Championship, it will be regarded on the same level 393 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:22.119 as the WWE and now the World Heavyweight. Well, they're certainly Here's the 394 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:26.880 thing that's a difficult question answer only because well, you and I and most 395 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.000 fans would have no problem in we just getting rid of Universal, just going 396 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:34.200 back to w w E on SmackDown and the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw. 397 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:38.319 That's the cleanest, makes the most sense and less confusing. But the problem 398 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:44.720 is this that WWE has put so much stock into the Rolling Rains run that 399 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:51.519 since his run began with that Universal Championship that we're proposing goes away. I 400 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.839 don't know if they would just dissolve it because that then if all of a 401 00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:59.480 sudden, like you're in your scenario where ten fifteen years down the line, 402 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:00.920 we're like, wow, did we regard it as a world everyway championship? 403 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:04.279 You know, well if they don't, if we say yes, and then 404 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:10.720 that belt that Roman Reigns started is run with doesn't exist anymore. I think 405 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:12.319 the fans may look at that, or WWE may say, well, we 406 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:15.880 don't want to look back and go, yeah, the five hundred out of 407 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:21.079 the however many days at this point one thousand or two thousand whatever it ends 408 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:25.640 up being, the first five hundred days of it did not was with the 409 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:30.079 Universal, and so why would why would we just dissolve a belt where five 410 00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:33.839 hundred of those days were just with the universal. That again, that championship 411 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.359 doesn't exist anymore. I I could think that's the only argument against it other 412 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:41.039 than that. I mean to answer your question, if Roman reigins Is Run 413 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:45.720 didn't exist, I think that they would just they would probably look at it 414 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.680 as a world title victory. I think that they would because that's how they 415 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:53.319 treated it for years. Yeah. I guess the reason I ask is because 416 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:59.200 WWE it's kind of muddied the waters a bit when it comes to world championship 417 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:03.480 victories like the say like seen as a sixteen time world champion, like well, 418 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:07.559 a lot of those were the World Heavyweight Championship, so we are counting 419 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:11.319 that as a world title victory. But that's what the danger you get is 420 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:15.359 when you create a world championship out of thin air, the World Heavyweight Championship, 421 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:19.960 they're just bringing back, like for people forget, they retired the Intercontinental 422 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:23.240 Championship for like almost a year, I want to say, from O one 423 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.799 to O two, and they did the same with the US Championship, So 424 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:33.680 titles can be retired and brought back. But the Universal Championship they literally created 425 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:37.359 out of thin air in the summer of twenty sixteen, and it never made 426 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:41.079 sense from the beginning to your point when in its inception it was just the 427 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:45.160 WWE Championship with a red strap, so it almost didn't even have like an 428 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:49.119 identity of its own. And I guess that's why, Like I wonder if 429 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:53.200 WWE, if they could have had a do over, if they would have 430 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:59.400 just brought back the World Heavyweight Championship in twenty sixteen to place over on Monday 431 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:03.519 Night Raw. And I guess my second question, or one of my numerous 432 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:07.480 questions for you would be, is do you think if they do a good 433 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:12.039 job at trying to remind people of the lineage of the World Heavyweight Championship, 434 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:18.359 that Raw will be able to feel as important as SmackDown has with Roman reigns 435 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:22.519 and the Undisputed Championship, because we've talked about for so long now that Raw 436 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:26.240 has really been behind the eight ball in regards to SmackDown because of the world 437 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:32.480 title lacking. Well, I think that's a multi layered question. So first, 438 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.640 I think already instantly feels more important than it has in the past, 439 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:41.599 not just because there's a tournament and we'll focus on the tournament, but what's 440 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:45.880 the ultimate result of this tournament is we're gonna have a world champion, thank 441 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:48.079 God. Like I mean, you and I have been advocating for that among 442 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:49.799 other fans. You could hear the reaction when Triple h and reduced it. 443 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:53.960 Fans cheered, it was a big pop. Fans were ready to see somebody 444 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:57.119 there on a weekly basis, and it's not just you and I on the 445 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:02.440 podcast here. So that is already elevating Raw and does make it feel more 446 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:07.079 important. But the second part of this, the second layer, is does 447 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:09.400 this make it feel as important as Roman Reins to your question, I mean 448 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:13.920 not right away. No. I think what's gonna make it feel as important 449 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:19.920 as Roman Rains is run is who's holding it and what storylines are they in. 450 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:23.160 How is the crowd reacting to this proposed baby face champion. There's a 451 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:30.920 lot of factors, and it's difficult because from a lineage standpoint, it's equal. 452 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:36.039 I mean the universal doesn't count. I'm saying WWE in World Heavyweight. 453 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:38.880 There's a lot of lineage there between both of them, decades of lineage and 454 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:44.519 going back like USA to WCW. So from a lineage standpoint, I think 455 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:47.279 they're on par. But from an actual in the moment, what do I 456 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:52.720 think about it? In this second? Who feels more important? I mean, 457 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:55.519 Roman Rains has had such a long lead here that it's going to be 458 00:32:55.599 --> 00:33:00.480 tough for anyone to catch up to that feeling that they're unequal footing because of 459 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:05.119 how epic this run has been. So it's gonna take a long time, 460 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:09.799 if it's even possible at all, for in the moment that person that champion 461 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:15.480 on raw feeling unequal footing to Roman Reigns. Given how much lead time Roman 462 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:20.240 has had with this belt, I know it might be a bit of left 463 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:22.640 field, but I just want to address it before we wrap it up. 464 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:27.359 But like I kind of brought it up before, but like, where the 465 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:30.920 hell are they gonna go with Drew McIntyre, Like, think about where this 466 00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:36.559 guy was three years ago in the pandemic era and before Roman Reigns returned to 467 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:40.960 the Thunderdome. You know, Drew McIntyre was the straw that stirred the drink 468 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:45.720 for w W. He was the guy that carried them through the even the 469 00:33:45.880 --> 00:33:51.319 pre thunder toomera, like the Performance Center era era. I don't even think 470 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:53.880 we saw Roman Reigns to do a show in the Performance Center that was all 471 00:33:53.960 --> 00:34:00.240 Drew McIntyre and he never got his moment. The runway ran out well before 472 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:02.799 they got back in front of fans, and I'm just wondering, like, 473 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:07.320 are they ever going to be able to rekindle the magic they had with Drew 474 00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:15.480 McIntyre just as COVID started that is That's that's tough because all the reports you've 475 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:21.440 heard, I've heard everybody is that WWE and Drew are on separate pages when 476 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:25.159 it comes to the next contract because he's close to his current was expiring soon. 477 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:29.079 Now what do I what date is exactly? I don't know. I 478 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:32.280 would imagine the next thirty to sixty days that his contract expires. And they 479 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:36.639 seem to be on two separate pages when it comes to the two c's cash 480 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:40.039 and creative, and they seem to not be anywhere near one another, which 481 00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:43.679 is not good. And if they're at an impass, then Drew will go 482 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:46.280 his separate way with w w EE. And if they don't, though, 483 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:52.280 I'm gonna go with the assumption that they eventually come together, they come to 484 00:34:52.360 --> 00:34:58.239 an agreement and Drew stage with WWE. I don't know if Drew can get 485 00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:00.800 back to where he was. I don't know. Now, a heel turn 486 00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:05.480 is something that is fun to explore. Drew has been heel before. Remember 487 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:08.920 Shane McMahon, Remember he religned himself with Shaney was like Shane's heavy for a 488 00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:12.800 while. I think it was during was it during the AJ Styles program? 489 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:17.880 That Yeah, he was his heavy And that was in twenty nineteen, right 490 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:22.119 when we were just starting to work together on this podcast. Coincidantly enough, 491 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:27.159 and he came really a long way since then. Oh god, yeah, 492 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:29.840 I mean he as you said, he carried the pandemic era. He is 493 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:32.280 the face sadly, and I mean this in a respectful way, but he 494 00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:36.480 is the face of the thunderdomera, the pandemic era. He carried WWE, 495 00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:39.719 and I feel really bad for him, you know, getting that massive elimination 496 00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:43.760 of Brock and the Rumble and then having his moment. You're thinking, oh 497 00:35:43.800 --> 00:35:45.559 my god, he's finally going to be in front of fans being crowned as 498 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:49.679 champion. And he gets crowned as champion in front of no One, and 499 00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:52.079 I'm like, oh my god, that's got to be so heartwrenching for the 500 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:55.639 dude. And I felt for him. But he really did an awesome job 501 00:35:55.800 --> 00:36:00.280 carrying the company during that time of just bizarre. It was a bizarre world 502 00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:04.639 for all of us. And so you know, I have nothing but respect 503 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:07.760 for him. But he has come a long way. He just is a 504 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.199 He's the perfect example of a polished performer leaving a boy coming back a man. 505 00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:15.159 All of that is true. He just knows who he is, he 506 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:19.840 knows his value. He's just a solid in ring worker. He never has 507 00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:22.599 a bad match. He's always solid on the mike. He'll never blow you 508 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:27.039 away, and you know, just leave you jaw dropped. But he's just 509 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.159 such an all around He's like an he's an a guy. He could be 510 00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:34.480 a world champion at any time, and I don't think anyone would complain. 511 00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:38.880 But if he sticks around, I honestly he may short turn tround the baby 512 00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:42.400 face thing. But honestly, if that that doesn't work, I would turn 513 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:44.920 him heel and give him a new, a new fresh coat of paint. 514 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:51.480 Because you look on the Monday Night Raw Side and I guess that Gunther is 515 00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:54.159 the top heel on the brand right now because you have Seth who's a baby 516 00:36:54.199 --> 00:36:59.239 face, Cody who's a baby face. I guess if you count the Judgment 517 00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:01.880 day, it feels like they're gonna give Damien Priests a massive run. Like 518 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:06.039 do you think there's any chance Damien Priest comes out of this as the world 519 00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:10.559 champion? No? Not right now. I mean that match with Bad Bunny, 520 00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:14.840 it was fine, it was good. I didn't have any problem with 521 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:16.719 the match quality, but it wasn't meant to build Damian Priest, even though 522 00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:19.760 he came out, you know, I think he came out and feeling a 523 00:37:19.800 --> 00:37:22.639 bigger star, and he was left out of WrestleMania season for all intents and 524 00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:27.480 purposes, it's nice as child. Yeah, he was exactly and for him 525 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:30.079 to get the spotlight with bad Bunny and having a good match, it was 526 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:35.440 important and that's good, but it did not elevate him to World Heavyweight Championship 527 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:38.840 contender status at all. You know, maybe if things continue, we could 528 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:42.920 be talking a different tune next year, but right now, no, I 529 00:37:43.159 --> 00:37:46.199 don't think he's in the conversation to be a realistic competitor for the World Heavyweight 530 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:50.119 Championship, not not the way that they've defined him anyway. Right now. 531 00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:53.519 Yeah, I mean, I guess I'm just looking at this that the raw 532 00:37:53.679 --> 00:37:57.719 card, and aside from Gunter, I don't see a top heel. And 533 00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:00.800 that's why if Drew does come back, and I'm hoping he does, I 534 00:38:00.840 --> 00:38:05.599 would imagine that maybe they turn him. He'll because you look at Cody, 535 00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:09.079 he's gonna stay baby face. Seth Rawlins just turned baby face again. I 536 00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:13.840 mean Finn Balor, Finn Balor feels as stale as ever if you ask me. 537 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:19.079 I mean, it just feels like Drew would have the best spot to 538 00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:24.039 lock in a main event kind of spot. Not to reiterate myself, if 539 00:38:24.119 --> 00:38:28.599 he were to turn heel, No, yeah, no doubt, I mean 540 00:38:29.079 --> 00:38:30.000 him, it could be the best thing he ever does. Kind of like 541 00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:35.679 Bianca bel Air turning her heel too, would do effing wonders for her career. 542 00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:37.679 And like you said, with Drew, because fans will cheer him, 543 00:38:37.719 --> 00:38:40.280 he gets a solid reaction. But fans are kind of like, all right, 544 00:38:40.280 --> 00:38:44.360 we've seen this act. We're kind of ready for something new. Show 545 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:46.599 us how nasty you can be. Remind us because how it's been like what 546 00:38:46.760 --> 00:38:50.880 four years since your McIntyre has been a heel. I mean it's time, 547 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:52.960 like we're ready to see that side of him. It would instantly make him 548 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:55.639 more relevant. He'd be able to work with top guys like Seth, like 549 00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:59.239 Cody, and it would be a lot of fun to watch. And he 550 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:01.679 could work with any buddy and always has great matches. So I think that 551 00:39:01.760 --> 00:39:05.400 that's a really good solution for if they bring them back, and like you 552 00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:07.400 said, hopefully they do. But all right, well, I guess we'll 553 00:39:07.400 --> 00:39:12.000 wrap it there. But before we go, any final thoughts or plugs or 554 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:15.760 anything that you want to mention. Well, yeah, just um, I 555 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:17.960 guess my upcoming show this week we will be covering the history of the World 556 00:39:19.000 --> 00:39:22.559 Heavyweight Championship and my last show it was about a week and a half ago 557 00:39:22.639 --> 00:39:25.360 now, and I'm constring to remember what I did. I think it was 558 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:29.960 it JBL. It could have been JBL, it could have or was it 559 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:32.400 Seth Throns It was one, Yeah, it was one of those two. 560 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:37.159 It was JBL or Seth Rawlins. But either way, I just think everyone 561 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:40.760 should be on the lookout for the history of the World Championship. I'm not 562 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:45.199 gonna do WCW so just from O two to twenty thirteen. Obviously, I'm 563 00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:50.199 not going to get into the weeds for so to speak, but I just 564 00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:54.039 want to kind of cover what we should be expecting and what the lineage was, 565 00:39:54.079 --> 00:39:58.039 because I think there's a lot of fans out there who probably don't remember 566 00:39:58.119 --> 00:40:01.920 what the World Heavyweight Championship meant to or like you and I maybe those that 567 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:05.480 have forgotten, right, I mean, I think it's it's been a while, 568 00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:07.480 so I think we even those that feel like they're hardcore fans, I 569 00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:10.559 think it could do all of us, those that are new and the quote 570 00:40:10.639 --> 00:40:15.159 unquote hardcore, It could benefit all of us to remind us the faces and 571 00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:17.519 names of those that held it beforehand, and I think that's going to do 572 00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:22.320 wonders for the World Heavyweight Championship tournament that is going on right now presumably. 573 00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:25.920 So all right, well, very good, and I'm looking forward to your 574 00:40:27.159 --> 00:40:30.559 discussion later this week about the World Heavyweight Championship, the lineage of it. 575 00:40:30.760 --> 00:40:35.559 Very important topic and timely. So we will be chatting again in a week 576 00:40:35.719 --> 00:40:38.639 and we'll at that point know what the finals are for this World Heavyweight Championship 577 00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:43.599 match. Yeah, and we'll be able to preview the Saudi Arabia event. 578 00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:45.880 I just keep calling it the Saudi Arabia event because I always forget it's Night 579 00:40:45.920 --> 00:40:50.440 of Champions is it? Yes, officially nine of Champions, but I know 580 00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:53.480 anytime it's in Saudi Arabia like overshadows any anything else. Yet, Well, 581 00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:58.360 it's because it used to be Crown Jeweled then they did they didn't. They 582 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:01.480 do an elimination chamber there too, like they always change whenever they're going. 583 00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:06.719 The Greatest Royal Rumble where broun Stroman won and it meant nothing. Yeah, 584 00:41:07.719 --> 00:41:12.320 all of that. Yes, they and the beloved Crown Jewel event that was 585 00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:15.239 one of the worst pay per views ww's ever had, bringing Sean out of 586 00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:19.159 retirement and people getting injured left and right. It was a disaster. Yeah, 587 00:41:19.360 --> 00:41:22.639 so's there's something cursed Undertaker? Oh my god, Oh god, that's 588 00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:25.840 right. I think that's the word. Is that the worst match in history? 589 00:41:27.800 --> 00:41:30.280 Like I'm not even joking. When you match it up against the expectations 590 00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:35.440 and the perceived star power to the actual in ring result, it was that 591 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:37.840 the worst match of all time. It's so bad, it's so yeah, 592 00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:43.000 that's true. I mean in terms of right expectation to result. Yes, 593 00:41:43.159 --> 00:41:46.639 I mean there's been some really bad women's matches, like really bad. There's 594 00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:51.199 been some awful celebrity matches. But if you're just if you're going to frame 595 00:41:51.239 --> 00:41:53.360 it as expectation and result, it's got to be in your top two. 596 00:41:53.559 --> 00:42:00.320 I mean, like and considering that Undertaker literally almost was paralyzed and or killed 597 00:42:00.599 --> 00:42:02.960 in that match, Yeah, that that's should top our list. So um 598 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:07.440 who yeah, but definitely, guys, I would not recommend watching that pay 599 00:42:07.480 --> 00:42:09.960 per view. What I'd recommend listening to, though, is our show on 600 00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:14.360 Friday that's going to cover the World Heavyweight Championship that I'll get you ready for. 601 00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:16.480 Who is going to be crowned the new World Heavyweight Champion at the end 602 00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:20.280 of the month. So all right, buddy, we will be chatting again 603 00:42:20.280 --> 00:42:22.159 in a week, so you take care. Yeah, you two looking forward 604 00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:29.079 to it, but bye. Thanks for listening to the WWE podcast. Don't 605 00:42:29.119 --> 00:42:32.880 forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss a show, 606 00:42:34.199 --> 00:42:38.559 or head to WWE podcast dot com And for all of these shows ad free, 607 00:42:38.679 --> 00:42:45.519 head over to Patreon dot com slash WWE podcast. Until then, we'll 608 00:42:45.559 --> 00:42:46.400 see you next time.