WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:13.480 This is WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre and you're listening to the WWE podcast, the 2 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:28.679 show, the one that everybody wants me sixteen so well, yours is myn 3 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.880 We're gonna acknowledge me. Everybody, Welcome to a very special edition of the 4 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:39.159 current State of AWWE. I've got Anthony DeMarco with me, and we certainly 5 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.799 are not going to have a shortage of things to talk about tonight. As 6 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.960 we are currently recording this as Monday Night Raw is being recorded, we have 7 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:48.880 seen a couple of things, but that's not going to be the really the 8 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:51.960 focal point of tonight's show. Tonight, we're gonna be talking about, of 9 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.560 course, Sam Punk's return, Ran Yorton's return, and not just our initial 10 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:59.479 reaction to that, but really what we can expect going forward. But Anthony, 11 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.320 my god, what a difference just a day can make in the world 12 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:07.079 of wrestling. It's crazy as I start the show off, what the coughs 13 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:11.079 are everyone? But I guess that's kind of a microcosm of my excitement to 14 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.680 really get going here. And this is arguably the most excited I've been to 15 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.799 come on here and do the current say of WWE. With you, and 16 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.000 it was funny. I watched the beginning of Monday Night Raw and Michael Cole 17 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:27.480 said something that I would usually chalk up to hyperbole and just a gross exaggeration, 18 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:32.920 as we often see WWE do, specifically with their commentary team, but 19 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:38.000 he said, one of the most anticipated Monday Night raws in history, And 20 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:42.480 to be honest with you, I don't think that's an understatement. It feels 21 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:48.719 like this is Monday Night Raw after Mania on steroids, and it feels like 22 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:53.120 the entire company has gone through like a seismic shift. And it's probably me 23 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.719 overrating what happened at Survivor series, but that was one of the best paper 24 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:05.040 view not only just because of the returns of Punk and Orton, but just 25 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:10.120 like the storytelling I found was it events so much and to me, it 26 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:15.759 felt like the official beginning of like the Triple H era. And I know 27 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.199 we've been in that era for fifteen sixteen months now, but we had Vince 28 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.479 come back in, we had the shift to TKO, but it just feels 29 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:28.960 like this was like Triple H's stamp on the product, and it feels like 30 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.960 he is really putting this thing into overdrive. That may be a good way 31 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.280 to really frame this whole thing is that this really did feel like Vince wasn't 32 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.120 involved, because I don't know, had Vince still been in charge, if 33 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.879 Punk would have come back, if the stories would have played out the same 34 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:50.039 way. It's likely no. The answer is no to that, And I 35 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:53.199 think that we're in a position now that really sets us up perfectly for WrestleMania, 36 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:59.199 because you were looking at the landscape of this roster and you're saying to 37 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:02.560 yourself, my god, there are so many different scenarios and matchups that we 38 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:07.479 either haven't seen or we haven't seen in a while, and you're looking at 39 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:10.400 this and saying, Wow, what about a heel turn? Could Randy turn 40 00:03:10.439 --> 00:03:15.000 on Cody? Could Tony? Could Cody turn unlikely? You? Could you 41 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.800 have Randy Orton or rather see them Punk face off against Seth Rollins and that 42 00:03:17.879 --> 00:03:23.719 whole debacle that happened on Saturday night. There are so many different scenarios. 43 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:25.919 And then Randy Orton this past Monday night, as I'm recording this, I 44 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:31.080 saw him count On identify the bloodline in every single member he's coming after. 45 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:36.919 So there's your Randy Orton Roman Rains match whenever that happens punk and Roman reigns. 46 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.639 I mean, this has really not only established Triple H firmly in control 47 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:45.280 of the company and feel like a different product, but it has truly it 48 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.479 does feel like it almost feels like a Monday night raw after WrestleMania, you 49 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.439 know. And I saw some of raw, but not all of it, 50 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.599 and it does feel like a raw after WrestleMania. And it does feel to 51 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:59.919 me almost like the unofficial beginning of WrestleMania Season two. It feels like the 52 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.360 beginning of just a new season or a new era. And you know, 53 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:11.039 just the simple fact of like we don't know what's real and what's like fake 54 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.960 anymore. And I hate using that word. I'll just use staged or we 55 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.360 don't know what's a worker shoot anymore. It really feels like Tripleh's slowly but 56 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:24.879 surely turning back the clock to a vibe that we haven't felt in twenty twenty 57 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:32.319 five years, maybe fifteen twenty. But it's like back then in the so 58 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:41.439 back then, the way that I was like kind of accustomed to watching was 59 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:46.120 that we didn't really know what was real and what was staged. Like we 60 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:51.040 knew the entire product was staged. We knew that it was mostly just a 61 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:57.600 show. But even just like a quick example of like Matt Hardy versus Edge, 62 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.040 what was real what was fake? Like when you would see certain angles 63 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:04.120 like oh my god, that seems like actually legit And it feels like with 64 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:10.319 Triple H now we were starting to get back into that as opposed to the 65 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:15.360 last fifteen years of Ins McMahon, where it was always staged and we knew 66 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:19.040 everything was a show. It felt like a show. But now it's starting 67 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:24.199 to feel like pro wrestling again. And even though we know that pro wrestling 68 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:30.600 is ninety five percent of work, sometimes you always have that bit of reality 69 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:35.000 seep into it. And just obviously it's just one show. It's only two 70 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:41.319 examples with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rowlins and the entire Internet going crazy, but 71 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:46.160 it just feels like that old vibe of pro wrestling, and we saw Radyalton 72 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:49.279 once again say professional wrestling to open up Monday Night Raw. Today, it 73 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:56.519 just feels like that vibe is slowly but surely coming back. That yes, 74 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:00.480 that is a vibe. That is something that they have told us that they 75 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.240 want us to feel. Is it's an environment that anything can happen, that 76 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:08.240 anything at any moment, and for so long it's not been the case. 77 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.680 And now and again, I don't want to take one night and extrapolate it 78 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:16.399 over you know, a long period of time. But this is a massive 79 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:20.800 moment in WWE. The ratings from mondaynett raw are going to be probably a 80 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:26.519 custom or equal to the mondaynt rawter WrestleMania, I would think, given all 81 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.600 of the social media buzz that has been absolutely blowing up all of our feeds 82 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:32.600 with Orton's return, which you know, as I've said in my raw or 83 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.920 my review for Survivors' series, I kind of feel bad for Orton because he's 84 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:42.120 been lost in the cmpunk and overshadowed by the cmpunk return. And we can 85 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.879 get into that in a little bit too, But yeah, just as a 86 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.360 kind of high level overview and look down on the product right now, it 87 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:54.040 feels like a different product. And I'm sure he'll have misssteps along the way 88 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.160 as we head into WrestleMania season, questionable decisions, that's to be expected, 89 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.319 of course, but this is a new it feels like a different, fresh 90 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.360 product. You're right, this feels like a true season premiere, like if 91 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.480 they were going to actually have a season premiere and make it mean something instead 92 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:11.279 of just some random day at the beginning of September to try to coincide with 93 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:16.279 all the other TV shows. This truly feels like the actual season premiere of 94 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:20.279 WWE, and for the first time in a long time, Raw feels like 95 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:25.680 the premium show after SmackDown dominated for a year or two with the bloodlines a 96 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:29.959 storyline. Yeah, I was thinking about that today, like SmackDown is in 97 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.560 a bad way right now, and I know the vibe that they're trying to 98 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:38.720 go with for SmackDown. The theme seems to be like traditional wrestling. You've 99 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.279 seen a lot of like the Lucha wrestlers get extended matches, whether that be 100 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:48.079 Somethinggon Dragonly obviously Santos Escobar Godn't get a push. Now you kind of have 101 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:53.959 a bit of like the I guess entertainment bit with like Grayson Wallder, Austin 102 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:58.240 Theory, and Kevin Owens. The main event scene is still obviously with the 103 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:05.319 bloodline and l but SmackDown for me and I said this was Logan Paul won 104 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:09.240 the United States Championship. If they were not gonna have Logan Paul at least 105 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:13.800 be there on a bi weekly basis. SmackDown was gonna suffer big time because 106 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.920 Roman Reigns is missing and I don't think Logan Paul has been on one single 107 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.600 SmackDown since he won the US title. And like not to go off track 108 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:24.439 here, because obviously we got to dive in at Randy Orton and see him 109 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:28.160 punk and all that stuff, but quickly they got to do something on SmackDown. 110 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:31.440 And that's why, like almost I've been a bit lenient with how much 111 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.559 that they've been loosey goosey with the brand rules because it's only been a one 112 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.639 way street. You're not seeing SmackDown guys coming over in a Monday night row. 113 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:43.200 It's been exclusively Raw going over to SmackDown just because they don't have the 114 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.879 star power. And look La Knight. Obviously I was gonna say the hottest 115 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:50.399 wrestler, but now maybe that might not be the case anymore. You have 116 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:56.559 the bloodline that I guess is treading water and still semi staying relevant. You 117 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:58.320 have the women who I think are doing a good job. A nice story 118 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:03.080 with Dad mich Control is developing, but in my opinion, for specifically because 119 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:07.200 of the lack of championships. SmackDown's at a very tough spot right now. 120 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:11.759 Yeah, SmackDown is. And again they had their time in the sun though, 121 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:13.200 And this is the normal way of wrestling. This is the normal way 122 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.240 of WWE. You have two brands, You're always going to have one brand 123 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:20.399 that every show feels like, oh, well that was better than Raw, 124 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.480 this was better than SmackDown. But for a long time, SmackDown was the 125 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.960 trending hot show. With Roman reigns and the bloodline story of the Civil War. 126 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.720 We all know the whole thing that happened, which was brilliant. And 127 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:35.919 now Mondonette Raw has taken over and I would imagine, while it hasn't been 128 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.120 established here, and I guess this is a good segue into the more detailed 129 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:45.159 stories going on with Orton and with Punk, is that both of them negotiate 130 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:50.080 a quote unquote free agent contract where they're not binded to one show. Because 131 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.919 Randy Orton threatened the bloodline, well, the bloodline's on another show. Ce 132 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.960 on Punk, you'd imagine that he is not going to just stick on Raw, 133 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:00.840 that at some point he's going to be able to gover to smack Down 134 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.879 and make a massive appearance there maybe confront Roman Reigns, who knows when, 135 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:07.320 But that to me makes the most sense. And I don't know if you 136 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:11.879 feel the same way that neither of them at this stage in their careers should 137 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:16.919 be binded to a single show. That they should both probably have those those 138 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.360 free agent contracts like brock Lesner does. Yeah, I would imagine so because 139 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.799 on Monday Night Raw, like sure, like the first few weeks, probably 140 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:26.759 right up until Row Rumbull season, both of them will be at the top 141 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:31.279 or at the forefront. But they're gonna get drowned out. And if they're 142 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.879 not going to get drowned out, then some other prominent wrestlers get get drowned 143 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:39.240 out. Like look how stars stud it take CM punk and Randy Orton out 144 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:43.039 of it. Look at the star power that they had in that in the 145 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:48.799 Wargames match. Even if you remove sammy' zane and Jay Usso, who are 146 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:52.120 flirting with being main events on a full time basis, you had, in 147 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:58.639 my opinion, four superstars or five superstars rather that are surefire main events and 148 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:03.480 that could fly in a main event on any pay per view. Damian Priest, 149 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:07.279 which I'm sure some people will argue, Finn Ballard, Drew McIntyre, 150 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.639 seth Rawlins, and Cody Rhodes. Those are five guys in my opinion, 151 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:16.360 that have solidified themselves a main events every day of the week. And like 152 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.840 I said, there's a case being made that for Sammy Zay and or Jay 153 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:24.240 usso on any given night. Now you're adding in Randy Orton, a guy 154 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.600 who has been on the shelf for eighteen months, looks better than ever, 155 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.720 Like he quite literally looks better than he did twenty five years or twenty years 156 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:37.440 ago. And CM Punk, who is the most polarizing and I don't think 157 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:43.279 this could be disputed the most polarizing character wrestler person in professional wrestling right now, 158 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:48.759 and all eyes are going to be on CM Punk. So I don't 159 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:54.080 know how much room there is for all these guys there. And you know, 160 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.360 not counting Sammy and j you could account for seven surefire main eventters on 161 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:03.360 Monday night right now. And that's not even mentioning any of the guys in 162 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:05.600 the mid card, Like oh, I don't know the Intercontinental Champion, Gunther 163 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:11.039 or the Miz or Chad Gable, any of the tag teams, the women's 164 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:15.320 division. So I mean, I think that absolutely CM Punk and or Randy 165 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:20.559 Orton should be should be free agents and should spend the line share of their 166 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:24.240 time over on SmackDown, because right now SmackDown is in dire need of star 167 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.159 power and with John Cina gone, with Roman reigns mi I A, with 168 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:33.960 Ages Styles and Shamus on the shelf, who is a surefire main event or 169 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.000 on SmackDown right now? Raymonds Stereo is also on the shelf. Now, 170 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:43.000 like Kevin Owens, I guess he kind of falls into that tweener category Austin 171 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:46.399 theory. Grayson Waller art there right now, like you have basically La Knight 172 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.240 and the collective entity of the of the of the bloodline, because the bloodline 173 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:58.840 in and of like individually with Solo and Jimmy, but they're not individually made 174 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:03.120 of ers. So I mean, I really do agree that they need to 175 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:07.360 make Randy and see him Punk free agents just because of how badly SmackDown needs 176 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.960 them. Yeah, to me, there's just there's no option here. And 177 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.960 I don't know that they weren't told on Raw if they're exclusive to Raw yet, 178 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.120 at least to my knowledge, I would imagine that that's where they'll land. 179 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.320 And they absolutely should because it keeps things fresh, It allows you to 180 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:26.600 move stars when you need to and bump smack down when Roman's out there, 181 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:30.480 which is ninety five percent of the time. So that is that's something I 182 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.879 expect to see moving forward. And so I mean reversing back here to that 183 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.120 moment that everyone's been talking about, to the moment that you've seen on TikTok 184 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:41.799 on Twitter or x rather on Instagram on Facebook. Everybody's been inundated by the 185 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.720 reaction videos or your reaction yourself. But I haven't been able to really chat 186 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.440 too much in depth with you when you you know, when you saw Randy 187 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:54.399 Orton come out, massive pop, the RKO was great, and of course 188 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:58.919 Cody having to get to victory really was just I understand why they did it 189 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.559 because Daddy created them. I don't give a damn that it doesn't mean anything 190 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.960 to me. But that said, when you saw the logo, were you 191 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.879 fooled into thinking, yeah, Punk's not going to be here? And when 192 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:13.480 he did, what was your reaction? Did you audibly yell or anything? 193 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:20.000 You know what. I was watching it with my buddy and when they won 194 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.080 the match, he tried to like cue cmpunk's music in like, like at 195 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:28.080 a certain point of Cody Rhodes's theme, like it was gonna cut off Cody 196 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:33.240 Roads's theme while they were all like high fiving and congratulating each other, and 197 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.840 then he was just like, ah, damn it. I thought they were 198 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:37.879 going to get us there. And then when they were panning out on the 199 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:43.919 big like aerial camera and the copyright logo came at the bottom, I literally 200 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:48.279 looked at him and I said, could they really go this? Do this 201 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:52.559 pay per view without CM punk? And then when his music hit, I 202 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:56.840 literally screamed, oh my bleep at cmpunk and got out of my seat. 203 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:03.039 And it's crazy because I'm not even a big cm punk fan. I've ripped 204 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:11.000 cmpunk a lot. And it's not even about cm punk himself. It's more 205 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:18.559 the fact that like they actually did it, like what it means and what 206 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:20.240 it means. And there's a bit of a sadistic part of me that, 207 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:28.440 like, I find it funny for ae W because I despise Tony Kahan and 208 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:33.960 I find that a W has just become like a land of misfit toys of 209 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:39.240 WWE wrestlers of yesteryear, and the fact that they squandered cm Punk to the 210 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:43.039 degree that they did. And to be fair, like I've come on here, 211 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.960 you've come on here and really like taken shots at cmpunk and said how 212 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.639 I'm professional. He came off and then and the blame does lie at his 213 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:56.639 feet. But there is no doubt that what Triple H said in the press 214 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:00.120 conference is that like positive or negative, love and or hate him, people 215 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:07.440 are gravitated to him and people talk about him, and I am so excited 216 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.279 to see what's gonna happen with cm punk And look, is it gonna be 217 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:15.120 like the best return ever? Is he gonna have the greatest like run in 218 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.480 wrestling history? Probably not. Maybe in a couple of months the in the 219 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:25.159 shine will wear off. But given everything that cmpunk has said about the company, 220 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:30.759 everything he's done, it just I don't know if I've ever had a 221 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:37.919 return feel as big and bray Wyatt's felt massive thirteen months ago, the Rocks 222 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:42.080 felt massive? What was that thirteen years ago? Now almost? But this 223 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:47.080 one just hit differently and I can't explain it, especially given the fact that 224 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:52.919 I'm not even a huge cmpunk fan. That's yeah, I was, I 225 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:55.919 will say I was. I was actually laying in bed. I was like, 226 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.919 I'll just watch the pay per view out through, and I'm sitting there 227 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:00.879 and I'm trying not to make any is because you know, half my family's 228 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:04.359 sleeping, and you know that would have been a whole debacle in my household. 229 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:07.960 It wasn't worth the yelling. So I had to contain myself. And 230 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.200 then I came on the show and I had to, you know, give 231 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:15.039 my thoughts immediately because I couldn't couldn't hold it in. And I will say 232 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:21.319 that the return did feel different. I credit WWE for waiting until the absolute 233 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:25.839 very last second with the logo. Very nice touch to fool fans because when 234 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:27.960 you see the logo, everyone knows end of show, good night, and 235 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:33.319 that didn't happen. And I mean, we got most of us got fooled 236 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.039 into thinking he wasn't gonna be there, even though they said, oh, 237 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:37.599 no one saw this coming. It's like, actually no, I mean you 238 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:41.039 heard fifteen thousand people in the All State Arena channing punk throughout the night, 239 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.440 so like that that you know, I know it's to push there, but 240 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.359 like, let's be real, and so this feels different, I think too, 241 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:51.119 even if and I admit I came on the show, and I continue 242 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:53.119 to say he was unprofessional in aew at times, even if he was at 243 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.880 FALT or not, he was unprofessional and you just can't do that. And 244 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:02.039 I stand by everything I said. But with that said, this return is 245 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:07.000 different because of the circumstances that left him to leave in the first place, 246 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:11.480 the things he said about WWE inaw how long it's been, all the things 247 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:15.160 he's talked about on Cole Cabana's podcast that in from his podcast, I dropped 248 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:21.039 what nine years ago now? So everything here just leads to just, oh 249 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:22.319 my god, how is this happening. The picture I don't know if you 250 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.759 saw it with Triple H and Punk backstage and Triple H's caption with something about 251 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:30.680 a cold day in Hell, because while they're not probably going to send each 252 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:37.039 other Christmas cards, it's really unfathomable to think about where they are now compared 253 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.400 to where they were. And I don't blame WWE for bringing him in. 254 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:41.880 It's the smart move, it's the right move. He's a needle mover, 255 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:45.480 he's going to bring in money. He's already got millions of views on social 256 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:51.000 media. I have nothing against this program, or against his return, But 257 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:53.920 I guess that might leads you to my next question. Did you see the 258 00:18:53.960 --> 00:19:00.240 seth Rollins reaction from a fan video that was circulating around the web? Yeah, 259 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:03.880 of course, And that's kind of where I what kind of fueled my 260 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:08.839 opening statement here or I guess my opening thought whatever kind of a wording you 261 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:15.119 want to use, but the fact that what's real and what's not. And 262 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:18.240 we could also get into the Drew mac entire stuff, but like seth Rawlins 263 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.440 freaking out the way he did, giving him the double Birds the way he 264 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:26.880 did, the fact that it's Michael Cole and Corey Graves being the ones to 265 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:32.319 really try and calm him down, and like see Himpunk's reaction of just waving 266 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:37.119 at him, all of this happening off camera, like it like it just 267 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:42.880 makes you smile, Like it's making me grin right now because it's making me 268 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:48.079 think back to the way it was twenty years ago. Now. Do I 269 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:51.319 think it's a work? Absolutely? I do think it's a work. I 270 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:55.759 think Triple H knows exactly what he's doing. And you know what, if 271 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:59.880 seth Rawlins actually reacted like that, shame on him, Like I forget what 272 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.519 his real name is. I think it's something Spanish. That's all I can 273 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.319 remember from his real name. But if the real guy was reacting like that, 274 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:11.559 shame on you, dude. Like, honestly, if you're in the 275 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:17.480 entertainment business, unfortunately, it doesn't matter who put in the most miles, 276 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:21.119 who put in the hard work, who's been there the longest, who's been 277 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:25.680 the most loyal If you're in the entertainment business, it's whoever draws the most 278 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:30.680 eyeballs and by extension, the most money. And that's what CM punk is 279 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:36.519 doing. But you know what, I think seth Rollin's the guy knows exactly 280 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:41.759 how important this is, exactly how big it is, how exactly what kind 281 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:47.039 of program he and seth roll and him and cmpunk are is going to have. 282 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:52.279 And to me, it's just brilliant, Like it's absolutely brilliant the way 283 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.440 that they're going about this. A lot of people are ripping, like journalists 284 00:20:56.440 --> 00:21:00.920 and insiders like Sean Ross staff or of Meltzer or whoever. They're like, 285 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.920 oh, you guys weren't on this, Like, look, this isn't the 286 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:10.160 NFL, this isn't the MLB, this isn't like a typical sports journalist trying 287 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:15.640 to find insider info to like report and break news. It's a simulated sport, 288 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:22.319 and in simulated sports, or in WWE more specifically, it's about telling 289 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:27.559 a story. And they're gonna use these reporters to tell stories. And that's 290 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:33.039 how these reporters can give us insight and content the way they are because they 291 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:37.880 are helping the company tell us a story. And to me, it's a 292 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:41.359 work, but it's a damn brilliant one at that, and I love it, 293 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.480 like I'm smiling right now talking about it because it's making me feel the 294 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:51.680 way I did about professional wrestling twenty years ago, because I just felt for 295 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:55.240 so long it was all a show. Everyone knew it was a show, 296 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:59.799 and it was basically like Circu Desila, like a traveling circus. But now 297 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:06.799 it's starting to feel like professional wrestling again. Okay, Yes, and just 298 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:11.680 so you know, Kolbe Daniel Lopez is his name. I couldn't. I 299 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.440 had no clue. I have actually never seen real I really didn't. So 300 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:19.119 those of you that need to know some trivia, it's Kolbe Daniel Lopez or 301 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:23.519 Coolbe Lopez is his real name. But you're right, this is something that 302 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:27.640 you look at and go. Even for the smart fans like myself, as 303 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:30.079 we smartmark whatever you want to label this as hardcore, I don't care what 304 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.880 the label is. Those of us that are more passionate and more detailed and 305 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.880 more involved in the product than the casual fan we look at this, even 306 00:22:37.880 --> 00:22:41.279 some of us are looking at this going I don't know, is there a 307 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:45.519 real element to this? Is this something that is actually partially real at the 308 00:22:45.640 --> 00:22:48.240 very least, or is this fully Seth losing his mind and getting angry that 309 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:52.200 Punk's back for whatever he said, you know, many years ago, whatever 310 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.039 the case may be. And I think it's ninety five percent work and five 311 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.400 percent that he genuinely doesn't like Phil Brooks. I think that's what it is. 312 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:06.279 And if you look back at some interviews that Seth Rollins did a couple 313 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:08.480 of years ago, or even for promoting the two K twenty three video game, 314 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:12.839 he said that, you know, for Phil Brooks, Seampunk to stay 315 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:17.200 away from WWE, that he's a cancer. He doesn't want to ever see 316 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.519 him. So maybe he was being smart knowing that, Okay, if Steampunk 317 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:23.240 ever comes back, I've got a match set up with the biggest star that's 318 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:26.640 going to return. So I mean, I think he was actually being proactive 319 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:33.599 in his promos or in his interviews that he did a year two years ago 320 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:37.200 talking about his dislike for Punk, knowing that if the hever comes back, 321 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.599 he's got a shoe in for a match with him. It's kind of a 322 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:42.119 smart deal. And if he didn't do that by on purpose, well then 323 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.279 it's a happy accident. I don't know what it was, but this to 324 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.039 me was it was. It's such a stark contrast to his character and that's 325 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:52.279 what made it so believable is he's always this happy, go lucky, cackling, 326 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:57.160 insane outfit wearing guy and then he comes out and he's flipping the bird 327 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:03.240 in a PG erasing Adam F this mother f for all these things, and 328 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:07.079 that's not something you do. You just don't do that. I mean, 329 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.400 like it's you have families there, you have kids that are still there, 330 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:15.000 and they did it off camera so they can get away with it there, 331 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.319 I guess. But this made it for me, made it feel more real 332 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.839 that a it was a total contrast of character for SETH two. It was 333 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:26.240 captured on a fan cell phone video, which makes it feel like you weren't 334 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:30.160 supposed to see it. It's a smart way to get it out there. 335 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:33.880 Knowing WWE, everyone everyone in the world has a video camera in their pocket. 336 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.960 And number three, it's already going to be exploding on the internet because 337 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:41.519 Seth Rollins or seam Punk has returned to WWE. So it is a very 338 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:45.640 smart move. Even if it was an accident or totally unintentional, it was 339 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:48.759 brilliant. And you know, even the Drew MacIntyre stuff, like him stormy 340 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.119 out the way he did, pissed off the wave that they said he stormed 341 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.279 out of the arena to the back, Like for me, this is all 342 00:24:56.359 --> 00:25:02.880 calculated, and this this is how I look at it. These guys are 343 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.039 main events. Drew McIntyre, seth Rawlins, seth Rowins is how many how 344 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:11.480 many world titles has he won? Like five at least main evented how many 345 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:17.160 WrestleMania's Drew McIntyre was the face of the company for a period during the pandemic 346 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.799 era. Like, these guys are veterans. And even if you hate Phil 347 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:23.440 Brooks, and look, there's a reason, there's a cocktail reasons to hate 348 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:29.279 Phil Brooks. Paul Leveck probably hates Phil Brooks to a certain extent, but 349 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:33.680 the guy draws money. This is a mega, mega return. And if 350 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:37.680 either of these guys, let's just, you know, for a second, 351 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:41.160 play in the reality that this was a shoot. Seth Rawns, is this 352 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:47.319 piss Drew McIntyre's this pitch pissed? Shame on them. Shame on them because 353 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:51.200 that means that you care more about yourself than you do the business. And 354 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:53.400 that's why I think this is a work. But the fact that we're even 355 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:57.279 talking about it and we're like dissecting, like hell, well, you know 356 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:00.519 what if they're mad, like shame on, or some people are just like, 357 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:03.240 yeah, you know what, like you know, he's not a good 358 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:07.799 law like good luck for the locker room, the cancer is there or whatever. 359 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:12.359 That's what makes this so brilliant because we're not only talking about the return. 360 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:18.759 We're talking about different like scenarios of what it means. Was that real? 361 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:22.359 Was it fake? Was it stage? Was it at work? Is 362 00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:26.200 Drew actually pissed? Does he have a contract? Seth cuts a promo last 363 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:32.039 night at a house show? Like That's what's so brilliant about all of this. 364 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:37.960 And the best part is cmpunk hasn't said a word. We haven't seen 365 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:45.039 Cmpunk on television with another wrestler yet, we haven't seen him interact with anyone 366 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:49.480 yet, and all this is going on, so it's nuts to me. 367 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:53.359 I hope that it's not just like a one hit wonder for Cmpunk and it 368 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:57.960 all spirals out of control. But I also have to be honest as such 369 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:02.240 a WW lawyer. I no love of the listeners bash me for this, 370 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:07.000 but I'll keep playing into this gimmick. I find it so funny for a 371 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:11.160 W because I think that company is just spiraling out of control right now and 372 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:15.680 they have totally off topic. MJF has a torn labrum, one of their 373 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:22.519 top stars is injured. Anyway. Yeah, so this is uh, this 374 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:26.079 is aw's of course worst nightmare, and especially if it goes well. But 375 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:29.839 you know, looking at this moving, I guess beyond the Seth deal, 376 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:33.480 which again we haven't seen. Wrong, guys, it's very possible that Seth 377 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:36.960 Rollins comes out and talks to Sampunk. I mean, we don't know yet, 378 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:38.839 we haven't seen it, so you know, again keep that in mind. 379 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:44.680 But this is a match that Seth Rollins has said he would do if 380 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:45.960 Seampunk is up to it. I mean, he has said that before in 381 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:48.519 the past, even though he doesn't like him, he would still have a 382 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:52.039 match with them if they're willing to do business, So that that seems to 383 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:56.039 be a shoe in for me. But I guess my question to you is, 384 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.359 as we look forward, Okay, the Punk return happened, what can 385 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.319 you see moving forward? The contract with Punk apparently is multi year, but 386 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:08.119 I'm just looking through WrestleMania at this point. Where do you see CM Punk 387 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:15.440 fitting now into the situation, into the into the WWE landscape, heading into 388 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:22.599 Rumble and then Elimination Chamber in Australia and then of course in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 389 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.599 forty. Do you have any idea? I mean, of course seth Rawlins 390 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:27.440 is out there, but you have Drew who is supposed to be facing seth 391 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:32.319 Like what now? What? What do you think could be the case for 392 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:37.759 CM Punk heading into Rumble Inmania? I mean the low hanging fruit for CM 393 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:42.880 Punk is seth Rawlins. I mean you have to imagine he's income face to 394 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:48.200 face with the Roman reigns at some point. But I feel like Cody Rhodes 395 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:53.519 is on a collision course with Roman for WrestleMania. As for Randy Orton, 396 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:59.599 I mean, he's such a Swiss army knife knife right now, you could 397 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:03.240 go and so many different directions with Randy Orton, Like the first one that 398 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:06.599 jumps off the page to me is Damien Priest. I don't know, maybe 399 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:10.680 just because of how built Damien Priest has got and just how could Randy Orton 400 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:14.079 looks just like from an esthetic point of view, it would be so like 401 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:18.440 intriguing. But that's the joy about all this is that there's no more clear 402 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:22.839 cut path anymore, but the one it's crazy. You asked me these things 403 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:29.480 about what it means for Orton and Punk specifically and individually, but it's I 404 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:33.839 don't even think about them right now. I think more about what it means 405 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:41.000 for other wrestlers. And the first thought in my head is, does this 406 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:45.359 mean that, like, we don't even need the Rock anymore? I think 407 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:48.880 it really could mean that we don't need the Rock. No one's even thinking 408 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:51.799 about the Rock now. I'm not thinking about the Rock. I kind of 409 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:55.160 gave up on it after another report after his return said oh, that was 410 00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:56.680 a one off, He's not gonna be there, And then Cody dropped hints 411 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:00.279 a hint after hint that it's gonna be him facing Roman to WrestleMania. I've 412 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:03.160 come to terms with the fact that the Rock and Roman is probably not going 413 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.759 to happen this year. If it does, great, but here's the thing, 414 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:11.319 we don't need it because of how many opponents that Roman Reigns has lined 415 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.359 up. Am I still going to be pissed off? And am I still 416 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:19.319 going to be honestly kind of insulted as a fan and angry and felt let 417 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:26.119 on for years by the Rock specifically because WW is more than willing to do 418 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:27.759 it, But so I would put the majority of the blame on the Rock. 419 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:30.319 Yeah, I'll still be angry. I'm not going to forget about it. 420 00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:34.400 This doesn't absolve the Rock, but it does make me forget about him 421 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:37.440 for a little while because of so many opponents that are lined up. Of 422 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:41.279 course, aj styles, you have a Cody Rhodes part two, which is 423 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:44.640 he's probably going to be the one to take the setle left Roman, but 424 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:47.920 you have Randy Orton floating out there. I mean, there's just now a 425 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:51.720 line of guys like yeah, exactly, Yeah, you have so many guys 426 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:56.519 that are just ready to go built in stories that to honestly like it would 427 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:59.720 soften the blow, but it wouldn't make me forget about it or forgive anyone. 428 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:03.519 For Yeah, I'm not gonna forgive, like in my opinion, and 429 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.359 not to go on a rock dietribe, I feel like he's done irreparable damage 430 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:12.519 to his legacy in WWE, and I know that he feels like he still 431 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:15.519 has stuff to do in WWE because he's not in the Hall of Fame yet. 432 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:19.400 And to me, if he was really ready to just hang up his 433 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:22.119 boots and never come back, he would have been put in the Hall of 434 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:26.279 Fame years ago. But for me, I think he's stringing them along. 435 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:33.000 But it feels like the way that the WWE landscape is right now and you 436 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:36.519 have so many stars that we're not even really talking about, like a Kevin 437 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:41.400 Owens, Sammy Zaane Austin Theory, like AJ Styles Shamus, like all these 438 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:44.519 guys who, yeah, they're probably better situted for the mid card, but 439 00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:51.200 still quality wrestlers, like even Roman Reigns at this point with CM punk back 440 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:55.000 and Randy Yorton back, and you know, seth Rawlins as important as he's 441 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:57.240 feeling is and even though we don't like him, Cody Rhoads in the position 442 00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:02.559 he is Damian Priest really rising. Drew McIntyre is still a very intriguing character. 443 00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:07.200 I'm very intrigued to see what happens with Drew McIntyre, La and Knight, 444 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:09.880 who I think still has a lot of popularity. Dunther still on a 445 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:15.480 big rise and a big PUSH's Intercontinental Champion slowly eventually would assume that he's gonna 446 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:20.519 scratch the surface on the main event. I don't even think you need the 447 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:25.640 belt on Roman Reigns anymore, like I think now how WWE is you have 448 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.920 found a landscape and a cast as superstars that you don't need to keep that 449 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:37.960 championship on Roman Reigns. In the pandemic era, it saved the company in 450 00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:40.319 a lot of ways. It saved creative. It was the most intriguing story 451 00:32:40.359 --> 00:32:45.400 weekend week out when they were in the Thunderdome coming out of the pandemic era. 452 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:47.920 It was the same thing that you were really like, you know, 453 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:52.599 when you had the WWE Championship on Biggie or Bobby Lashley, Like Roman Reigns, 454 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:57.200 still all of us felt like the champion who was going to carry the 455 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.480 Monday Night Raw brand, and that title always played second fiddle. It made 456 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:07.119 sense. But now with seth Rawlins and Cody Rhodes and how CM Punk are 457 00:33:07.160 --> 00:33:12.240 returning, Randy Yorton l a Night, to say nothing of guys like Sammy's 458 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:16.960 Ain Singles run by Jay Ouso Damian Priest Like, it just feels like it's 459 00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:22.880 time where you don't need to lean on the like a guy like Roman Reigns 460 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:27.599 anymore. You don't need to lean on the Rock returning, You don't need 461 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:32.519 to lean on a part timer like brock Lesnar. It feels like right now 462 00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:39.240 what WWE, WWE has at their disposal talent wise and how well creative it 463 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:44.119 is clicking under triple H. I don't even remember the last time they were 464 00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:49.200 in this good of a position. That was actually my follow up question to 465 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:52.519 you is, I don't when was the last time you felt this positive about 466 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:55.519 the product? And again, take the returns aside, those are just a 467 00:33:55.559 --> 00:34:00.680 bonus, you know, take take the returns aside. WWE, even despite 468 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:05.839 the Punk and Orton returns, which we're massive and absolutely everyone's talking about it 469 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:09.559 right now. It's the hot topic, and rightfully so. But even take 470 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:14.039 those out of it. WWE has been on a hell of a run lately 471 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:15.840 and done a great job, and I don't think they get the credit they 472 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:20.599 deserve sometimes for Number one, how difficult it is to build stars. It's 473 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:22.960 not easy to do at all. I don't envy their position. I'm not 474 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:27.159 saying it's easy to do. I'm just saying it's the lifeblood of the company, 475 00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:30.719 and I think they have done a very good job over the last couple 476 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:34.800 of years helping build new stars. It may not always be the stars that 477 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:38.760 people want or that they think WWE should push, and sure they screw up, 478 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:43.519 but I think they've done a great job of creating a next generation where 479 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:45.559 you, like you said, I don't know if we really even need to 480 00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:50.840 lean on the stars of yesteryear to create an interesting product anymore. But when 481 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:54.039 they do return, it's a big deal because now you're thinking about fantasy matchups, 482 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:58.400 you're thinking about Royal Rumble, you're thinking about WrestleMania, and it's just 483 00:34:58.519 --> 00:35:01.480 it's almost a bonus, a necessity. And I don't know how you feel 484 00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:06.119 about the overall product, which I think you just kind of answered, it's 485 00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:08.920 crazy because when we started doing this show, together, which is what like 486 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:15.800 four how long ago was it twenty nineteen? Yeah, twenty nineteen, so 487 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:19.960 that's four and a half years ago, which is bananas to think about. 488 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.840 That was probably the product at its wars, Like I remember we did a 489 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:28.400 show. It was probably like the third or fourth time we spoke, and 490 00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:31.719 we were talking about the upcoming main event of a pay per view of Baron 491 00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:39.760 Corbyn and Lacy Evans versus Becky Lynch and Seth Rawls and Dolf Ziggler versus Kofi 492 00:35:39.880 --> 00:35:46.760 Kingston for the WWE Championship and the US champion. I want to say was 493 00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:53.440 can't even tell you. I think the Intercontinental Champion was Bobby Lashley with Leo 494 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:59.079 Rush as his mouth piece. Leo Rush like, yeah, he would be 495 00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:05.239 like lash lash like, So just to say, is that leading into the 496 00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:10.519 pandemic era when we first started, when I first joined your podcast was probably 497 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:17.960 the worst summer of twenty nineteen was like the Duldron years of WWE creative and 498 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:22.519 the last time I felt this way about it like that tonight I had to 499 00:36:22.599 --> 00:36:25.679 rush home from work because I wanted to see the opening to Monday Night raw 500 00:36:27.800 --> 00:36:37.400 Honestly, you're probably going back like over fifteen years ago, like going into 501 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:43.960 wrestling in twenty three, like when they were building Sewn Michaels versus John Cena, 502 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:46.800 which I think was one of the best builds of all time and one 503 00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:52.880 of the more underrated wrestling matches. But for me to feel this like attached 504 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:58.880 the product and this confident about the product, you're probably going back fifteen sixteen 505 00:36:58.960 --> 00:37:04.960 years. There is no doubt that right now, and again I'm trying to 506 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:08.280 put aside the returns because everybody feels rosy when those happens, but that wears 507 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:15.079 off relatively quickly. Those pops that both men got are very unlikely to continue 508 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:17.639 to duplicate themselves week after week because you get used to the person being there. 509 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:22.760 It's human nature that feeling will wear off. But what will stay are 510 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:28.639 the guys that are continuing to ascend, the ones that you are are watching 511 00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:34.719 and seeing the stars of yesteryear help them achieve greatness, and you're watching, 512 00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:38.360 really you're watching at this point, I think stars that aren't just in their 513 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:44.239 beginning stages but are starting to peak. Gunther is starting to become party quote 514 00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:47.960 unquote in his prime. You have the mis who's been kind of reinvigorated by 515 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:52.320 a baby face turn that I mean I didn't think would work and didn't think 516 00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:55.599 it'd be successful, but it has been. Seth Rollins is repeaking at this 517 00:37:55.719 --> 00:37:59.920 time because of all the controversy right now, but he's been a good CHA 518 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:02.519 ampion over the last seven months or so. I mean, you have Roman 519 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:07.960 Reigns, of course, but we've already discussed him. You have l A 520 00:38:07.039 --> 00:38:14.239 Knight who came out of nowhere as an organic kind of fan driven It's just 521 00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:17.679 a star that really no one saw coming in terms of being able to main 522 00:38:17.719 --> 00:38:22.119 event him on a on a ple e. And here we are and he's 523 00:38:22.119 --> 00:38:25.480 still talking about targeting Roman Reigns. Like we have so many guys right now, 524 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:30.000 and the Judgment dating is a successful group. J Uso going out on 525 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:32.320 his own and being a major star. Cody Rhodes, for as much as 526 00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:36.480 you and I hate his babyface character, is a big star, love him 527 00:38:36.519 --> 00:38:39.559 or hate him. And so there's just everything right now. It's not all 528 00:38:39.639 --> 00:38:44.360 roses, but I mean there's some things that are still god awful, but 529 00:38:44.559 --> 00:38:49.199 it's more good than bad, and and it's it's sometimes difficult to find things 530 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:52.559 to nitpick because things right now feel so good, But I also want fans 531 00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:58.119 to realize, hey, these returns and how feel good that is that wears 532 00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:04.840 off. What doesn't is the storyory of the stories w produces and the weak 533 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:09.280 to weak quality of the product, the promos, the matches, which continue 534 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:14.199 to be really really good. So yeah, this is this is a time 535 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:19.559 when I don't know if I don't know if fan loyalty or fan satisfaction has 536 00:39:19.599 --> 00:39:22.000 been any higher. I'd love to do a poll if I could pull the 537 00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:24.880 millions of fans out there or what the how they feel about the product, 538 00:39:24.920 --> 00:39:29.440 what would come back at right now? And that's just to say it's not 539 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:32.840 with its warts right. Like I saw a bit where of them promoting the 540 00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:37.599 tag team Turmoil match a backstage you know a little thing where like a cure 541 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:43.119 Desa was doing like some shimmy that's now supposed to be funny. Like there 542 00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:47.599 still are the stupidities and they still are going to make mistakes. I still 543 00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:52.000 think the way that they've booked Roman Reigns matches up until three weeks ago is 544 00:39:52.519 --> 00:40:00.199 really really like just repetitive and boring and predictable. Like there are things that 545 00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:05.039 still need to be improved, but it feels like for the first time in 546 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:12.960 fifteen years that the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. And and like you said, 547 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.360 take away the returns like take away see him punk, like Randy Orton, 548 00:40:16.559 --> 00:40:19.719 Like, I mean, he's a big return, but we could factor 549 00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:22.400 that in. He's been around for a while. He was a big part 550 00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:25.119 of the pandemic era. Arguably one on his best run during the pandemic era. 551 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:31.400 But like even without that, like Monday Night Row was becoming maybe not 552 00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:36.480 must watch because yeah, sometimes like the formula was very similar, but the 553 00:40:36.599 --> 00:40:42.639 storytelling has been really good. Every segment that you put on right now means 554 00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:45.480 something, even if it isn't your flavor, even if you find it dumb, 555 00:40:45.800 --> 00:40:50.719 it doesn't hit quite right. Like the Zoe Stark let's say, promo 556 00:40:50.760 --> 00:40:53.480 from what was it two weeks ago? That was a really bad promo. 557 00:40:53.559 --> 00:40:58.639 It was unfortunate. I really felt bad for Zoe Stark, but still meant 558 00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:02.519 something. Yeah, Jack's return. Not a lot of people like Nia Jacks. 559 00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:06.480 A lot of people were just like why should hear? But it meant 560 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:13.679 something, you know everything or like you know, pretty deadly's the the what 561 00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:17.480 was that promo package? They did with their their feet like they're getting pedicures 562 00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:21.840 or something like, maybe it's not your flavor of the week, but it 563 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:25.440 meant something. It was furthering their characters, their storytelling. And that's what 564 00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:30.679 I find different now is that under Vince McMahon, there were so many, 565 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:36.440 you know, angles and segments and matches in a week that you knew had 566 00:41:36.519 --> 00:41:39.960 no consequence and in the grand scheme of things, meant nothing, Like like, 567 00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:45.000 have you realized that there are very very few squash matches anymore, like 568 00:41:45.039 --> 00:41:50.239 with enhancement talents. Yeah, unless they're doing it in dark matches, I 569 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:53.599 haven't seen them on TV, and like, and that's what I really like, 570 00:41:53.800 --> 00:41:58.880 how they've pushed the Creed brothers, Like how fast they how fast they 571 00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:05.400 like thrusted Austin not not Austin theory a Grayson Waller into like a very significant 572 00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:08.800 role. Like even a guy like Cameron Grimes. Cameron Grimes is someone who 573 00:42:08.880 --> 00:42:14.679 I think has lost every single time he's been on TV, but he's literally 574 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:20.320 always had quality matches. Look at Bronson Reid, Like Bronson Reid under Vince 575 00:42:20.360 --> 00:42:24.599 McMahon would have gotten the Bronze Schrowman treatment where you just squashed enhancement talents for 576 00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:28.559 two months straight and then they would have tried to build him up. And 577 00:42:28.599 --> 00:42:31.719 Bronson bron Strowman actually had a pretty good run under Vince mc mann. But 578 00:42:31.920 --> 00:42:37.079 like Bronson, Reid has taken a lot of losses. But every time he 579 00:42:37.159 --> 00:42:39.639 comes out there, it's to mean something. And that's what I like about 580 00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:43.719 this right now, is that even when I don't like it, or it 581 00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:45.760 doesn't hit for me, or it's not my flavor, at least I could 582 00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:49.599 come away saying, you know what, that meant something and it was fair 583 00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:52.760 purpose and you know what, I think has been also a staple of the 584 00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:55.519 Triple H era. And I don't want to put all of the all the 585 00:42:57.199 --> 00:43:00.920 praise on Triple H and all of the everything Vince did was bad, but 586 00:43:00.920 --> 00:43:05.679 but it does feel fresh now and and I think the staple of Triple H's 587 00:43:06.639 --> 00:43:10.280 run over for a little over a year now has been that not only have 588 00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:15.559 his pay per views come out feeling better than them they went in, but 589 00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:17.719 it almost like every pay per view, every pla has kind of hit the 590 00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:22.360 reset button ode or like the like the it's wiped the slate clean of any 591 00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:25.400 bad feelings you had about the company or a lot of them, and you're 592 00:43:25.440 --> 00:43:29.599 like, Okay, cool, I'm now into I'm back into this or I'm 593 00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:32.400 back into that where going and you're like, let's see what happens. And 594 00:43:32.760 --> 00:43:37.199 it's just something that I think is a credit to the talent themselves who are 595 00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:40.559 given more time to do what they do best, and that is tell good 596 00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:44.360 stories in the ring. Even if they suck on the mic, they can 597 00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:46.159 tell you a hell of a story in the ring, and I think that 598 00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:50.880 that's something that is that's something that is not often talked about as well, 599 00:43:51.719 --> 00:43:53.880 and so honestly, like yeah, like you said, though, there is 600 00:43:53.920 --> 00:43:59.159 still the crap that will always be crap on pro wrestling whenever anytime they usually 601 00:43:59.480 --> 00:44:04.239 they try to comedy. Comedy is difficult to do. It is very difficult 602 00:44:04.239 --> 00:44:07.159 to do, and especially when you try to have people do it that aren't 603 00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:10.719 professionals do it and it usually does not work out. Well. I know 604 00:44:12.320 --> 00:44:16.480 it is supposed to be the Sentina Morella of our generation or you know, 605 00:44:16.639 --> 00:44:20.679 like I get it, and there's some of it is kind of like it 606 00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:23.760 it's not super embarrassing to watch, but you're just like, yeah, if 607 00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:27.320 I had my friend over I wouldn't want him watching this stuff. I'd feel 608 00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:29.280 embarrassed. But if I'm alone, I'm like, all right, I can 609 00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:30.800 deal with this. And know I was like, that kind of stuff is 610 00:44:30.840 --> 00:44:34.960 always going to live in wrestling because they feel it's to let me up moment. 611 00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:37.320 It's a palette cleanser. It's a oh you can't, you got to 612 00:44:37.360 --> 00:44:39.239 shake things up from all the serious stuff going on. And I get it. 613 00:44:39.280 --> 00:44:42.679 I get it. So it's good. It's going to forever be the 614 00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:45.960 fabric woven into the fabric of WWE. There's nothing we can do about it. 615 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:51.880 But generally, I think the product has felt more wrestling focused, it 616 00:44:51.920 --> 00:44:54.480 has felt more storagedriven, and as you said, it has felt more like 617 00:44:54.559 --> 00:45:00.719 everything actually has a purpose instead of just filler. This is one thing that 618 00:45:00.760 --> 00:45:05.039 we used to talk about when we first came on. Well, when I 619 00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:07.880 first strudged, you showed like, does Vince McMann get too much flak that 620 00:45:08.039 --> 00:45:15.000 everything he touches people Blaze like said was bad, and I you know, 621 00:45:15.280 --> 00:45:16.440 was happy when he got out to But I'm just like, ah, maybe 622 00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:20.880 we're making too much of this. How much of a difference is Triple H 623 00:45:21.039 --> 00:45:23.440 gonna make or how much of a difference will it make Vince not being there. 624 00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:30.159 But now that we saw how it was in late twenty twenty two when 625 00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:36.519 he quote unquote retired, where it got to when he I guess presumably shoved 626 00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:39.480 his way back into creative And how it's been the last two months when the 627 00:45:39.519 --> 00:45:45.360 reports came out that area manual removed him from creative. Is it fair to 628 00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:52.039 say that that wasn't overblown that Vince McMahon in the last let's say ten ish 629 00:45:52.199 --> 00:45:55.360 years, maybe a bit less than that has been a major problem for creative, 630 00:45:57.280 --> 00:45:59.639 no doubt about it. I mean, this is this is the topic 631 00:45:59.639 --> 00:46:01.320 gum Man. I we could just veer off in another forty five minutes, 632 00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:06.679 but I mean, the short answer, the short version the cliff notes is 633 00:46:07.440 --> 00:46:12.519 yes. And it just comes down to number one. Age. As we 634 00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:16.320 age, even the great Vince McMahon, your mind will deteriorate, it will 635 00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:21.880 go downhill. You're not as sharp, you're repeating yourself, you're you're not 636 00:46:22.000 --> 00:46:24.039 coming up with the ideas that you used to. And also it's coming from 637 00:46:24.039 --> 00:46:28.199 the same mind. So when it's coming from the same mind or it's being 638 00:46:28.199 --> 00:46:31.760 fed to the same mind, and then filtered out. It's the same it's 639 00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:36.760 the same source that it's coming from. It's the same guy that's going through. 640 00:46:36.800 --> 00:46:38.599 So you're gonna get a lot of the same results and a lot of 641 00:46:38.639 --> 00:46:43.679 the same feeling when it's the same guy for forty years, and especially when 642 00:46:43.679 --> 00:46:47.039 you have a mentally deteriorating, uh you know, geriatric man. It's just 643 00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:52.360 it's just the way it's gonna be. So I think Triple H while he 644 00:46:52.480 --> 00:46:54.119 is going to falter and there will be times where we're sitting here going, 645 00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:58.320 what the hell is he thinking? This was awful and it's gonna happen. 646 00:46:58.360 --> 00:47:00.119 Of course, he's human, he's a human being, and I understand that. 647 00:47:00.599 --> 00:47:05.719 Sure. I think the Vince McMahon era to now, with Triple H 648 00:47:05.800 --> 00:47:08.039 being in charge for such a long period of time, now you can kind 649 00:47:08.039 --> 00:47:10.280 of look at it and go, oh, yeah, these are the the 650 00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:16.000 just the general feeling of the product is more. It feels like a wrestling 651 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.280 show. I think that is really what the difference is. And that's weird 652 00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:22.719 to say, considering that it should have been feeling that way all along. 653 00:47:23.159 --> 00:47:30.519 It feels more wrestling less quote unquote entertainment. Wrestling is entertainment. But when 654 00:47:30.519 --> 00:47:32.920 they try to entertain this with something outside of wrestling that feels more like Vince, 655 00:47:32.920 --> 00:47:39.119 and I would agree with that it's crazy because I do think that Vince 656 00:47:39.159 --> 00:47:45.400 had a lot of It's just sad. It's odd, to be honest, 657 00:47:45.440 --> 00:47:47.360 it's just sad. And even when Triple A said, like, I'm just 658 00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:52.239 trying to continue building what Vince McMahon turned into like a global phenomenon, like 659 00:47:52.320 --> 00:47:59.039 him name dropping Vince Micmann, Like it's crazy that he was like this brilliant 660 00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:04.400 promoter, the promoter of all time, and he just like overstayed as welcome 661 00:48:04.800 --> 00:48:08.679 and like we're seeing it in an in ring on screen capacity with Rick Flair 662 00:48:08.760 --> 00:48:14.519 right now? Are we not like someone who is widely regarded as one of, 663 00:48:14.599 --> 00:48:17.360 if not the best of all time in terms of being a wrestler, 664 00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:22.840 and we're literally seeing Rick Flair. I don't want to say disgrace himself because 665 00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:28.519 that's pretty brutal and mean and disrespectful, but like, is Rick Flair just 666 00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:31.440 kind of like a I don't know of metaphor is the right terminology, but 667 00:48:31.519 --> 00:48:36.480 a representation of maybe what was going on with Vince McMahon behind the scenes in 668 00:48:36.559 --> 00:48:43.480 creative I think yeah, in a different capacity. It's where this business and 669 00:48:43.679 --> 00:48:45.360 I'm not inside it. I'm on the outside, just talking about what I 670 00:48:45.360 --> 00:48:49.199 think is on the inside. But from everything I've seen and heard over twenty 671 00:48:49.280 --> 00:48:52.400 five years plus, this business gets in your blood. It's something you just 672 00:48:52.559 --> 00:48:55.840 can't let go of. And when it's part of your identity and it's part 673 00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:59.760 of who you are and part of your life, a large part of your 674 00:48:59.800 --> 00:49:05.159 life, it's really difficult to let go of because that's what in who you 675 00:49:05.239 --> 00:49:10.239 are. And so for Vince being on the inside and being the CEO and 676 00:49:10.280 --> 00:49:15.400 the chairman and running things for how many years, it's really difficult to detach 677 00:49:15.440 --> 00:49:17.119 from that. So he did everything he could to kind of cling on, 678 00:49:17.480 --> 00:49:22.320 hang on and be a part of the baby he helped create. And credit 679 00:49:22.360 --> 00:49:24.920 to him. I mean, everything Vince did wasn't always great, but he 680 00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:30.400 gave us a platform that will forever be in existence, we hope. And 681 00:49:30.440 --> 00:49:34.960 then you have on the wrestling side of things that Rick Flair. You have 682 00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:38.719 a guy that is clearly i mean twenty years out of his prime, in 683 00:49:38.840 --> 00:49:44.519 twenty years away from being able to wrestle a credible match in which I think 684 00:49:44.559 --> 00:49:46.840 you're gonna look at this if Rick Flair has imagined aw and you're gonna look 685 00:49:46.840 --> 00:49:50.440 at this and go, I just don't want him to die. Like if 686 00:49:50.480 --> 00:49:53.320 you look at a guy and you're saying that the goal of the match is 687 00:49:53.360 --> 00:49:59.079 to make sure that your opponent or one of the competitors doesn't die, I 688 00:49:59.119 --> 00:50:02.519 think that's a that's a sign of you know, maybe maybe you put this 689 00:50:02.559 --> 00:50:06.320 guy in when he was a little bit past his prime. So is he 690 00:50:06.400 --> 00:50:10.000 disgracing himself? Like kind of But fans aren't gonna really care too much. 691 00:50:10.039 --> 00:50:13.639 They're gonna be like, Wow, it's a Rick Flair match. Rick Flair 692 00:50:13.679 --> 00:50:16.000 is in this because that's his identity. That's who he was and who he 693 00:50:16.079 --> 00:50:22.639 still believes he is. And I understand that feeling. But at this point, 694 00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:25.159 yeah, he's it is kind of embarrassing for him. I don't think 695 00:50:25.159 --> 00:50:28.719 he's gonna ruin his legacy by any means. I don't be forever be etched, 696 00:50:28.760 --> 00:50:30.679 but man, yeah, I don't like to see it. I mean, 697 00:50:30.719 --> 00:50:34.559 we saw it with the Undertaker and others where it's like that wasn't so 698 00:50:34.639 --> 00:50:37.679 great. You can see the writing on the wall, and the writing is 699 00:50:37.760 --> 00:50:42.719 long faded for for Rick Flair. So I guess as we wrap it up 700 00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:46.760 here, like, I mean, what are we to expect from like the 701 00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:51.840 triple A chair moving forward? Like and look, there's there are wards in 702 00:50:51.880 --> 00:50:55.960 Triple H like every like everyone has, Like I'm not saying here saying that 703 00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:00.239 he like everything he touches turns to gold, but there's been tangible improvement. 704 00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:04.400 But like if they were, you know what, let's make it simpler. 705 00:51:04.840 --> 00:51:08.320 What's one we just praise Triple H for what the last hour or so and 706 00:51:08.480 --> 00:51:14.480 how creative has been unders watch, what's the one thing you want to see 707 00:51:14.519 --> 00:51:17.599 Triple H fix moving forward here? Like, what's the one thing to improve 708 00:51:17.679 --> 00:51:22.480 on? M Well, not welcoming to someone anet raw or SmackDown every single 709 00:51:22.480 --> 00:51:25.000 time that somebody comes out. Why they need to do that is so stupid, 710 00:51:27.320 --> 00:51:30.719 I would say. And I don't know if this is really a fix 711 00:51:30.800 --> 00:51:36.199 as more of just kind of a continual progression of making the product feel like 712 00:51:36.239 --> 00:51:39.440 anything could happen where you know when a finish is coming, where you know 713 00:51:39.840 --> 00:51:44.559 you can kind of feel things out. Just continue to do the little things, 714 00:51:44.599 --> 00:51:49.000 fix the little things that uh that that are that that make the environment 715 00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:53.079 feel like it's truly not and anything can happen environment it feels that times too 716 00:51:53.199 --> 00:51:57.559 controlled. It feels at times too much like you know what's going to happen 717 00:51:57.599 --> 00:52:00.360 next, and you know a lot of the time we're right as fans and 718 00:52:00.519 --> 00:52:04.280 unpredictably they can be fun if it's done the right way and it's done for 719 00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:09.519 the right reason. So I would say continual evolution of just adding creating that 720 00:52:09.719 --> 00:52:15.159 environment that fans feel. It's an exciting environment. You're always on your toes. 721 00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:16.039 You feel like, oh wait, you know, I don't want to 722 00:52:16.039 --> 00:52:21.719 miss this, something crazy could happen. So I would say that would be 723 00:52:22.039 --> 00:52:27.960 kind of a continual evolution. But what about you. I kind of touched 724 00:52:27.960 --> 00:52:34.639 on it before, but just have more consistency with the championships on any given 725 00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:39.800 show, and that means SmackDown right now, Like look SmackDown for since Crown 726 00:52:39.920 --> 00:52:45.599 Jewel, the only championship that we've seen on SmackDown is the Women's championship, 727 00:52:46.119 --> 00:52:50.440 and you know what, to be fair, that's probably the best story that 728 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:55.079 SmackDown has going right now is damage control and the impending I guess outsting of 729 00:52:55.079 --> 00:53:00.440 Bailey, which we all see coming. But I think the biggest reason why 730 00:53:00.480 --> 00:53:05.239 SmackDown has felt so blaw in the month of November and post Crown Jewel is 731 00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:08.599 because there's no championships, and you say it all the time, why are 732 00:53:08.639 --> 00:53:12.920 the men there or why are the women there? Why is everyone there to 733 00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:17.000 win championships? Why do you play football games every Sunday? Why do baseball 734 00:53:17.000 --> 00:53:22.199 players play one hundred and eighty times a year to win the championship? And 735 00:53:22.280 --> 00:53:27.360 on SmackDown it kind of feels like a rudderless ship right now. All the 736 00:53:27.440 --> 00:53:30.440 guys are just vying for what exactly, Like, Okay, yes, Santos 737 00:53:30.519 --> 00:53:35.119 Escobar, Yeah, that's a really good story. A La Night trying to 738 00:53:35.119 --> 00:53:37.519 get revenge on the bloodline, that's a really good story, you know, 739 00:53:37.679 --> 00:53:39.880 trying to build up Dragonly. Yeah, that's a good story. But like, 740 00:53:40.320 --> 00:53:44.199 there's no tag title, there's no mid card title, there's no world 741 00:53:44.239 --> 00:53:47.920 title. And for me, I think that we've seen now on two occasions 742 00:53:49.559 --> 00:53:52.599 wrong for all of twenty twenty two without a world championship to contend for, 743 00:53:53.079 --> 00:53:58.559 and now SmackDown with no men's championship to contend for at all, forget a 744 00:53:58.559 --> 00:54:01.199 world title, there's no mid card time or a tag title. I really 745 00:54:01.239 --> 00:54:07.079 think that we've seen on two separate occasions the big negative effect that a lack 746 00:54:07.119 --> 00:54:13.960 of championships, both singular and plural could have on a brand that I know 747 00:54:14.000 --> 00:54:15.679 that that's a good suggestion. I mean, again, we've been without a 748 00:54:15.760 --> 00:54:21.559 champion on some backdown since essentially WrestleMania what thirty eight? Uh so yeah, 749 00:54:21.639 --> 00:54:23.519 that and one last thing i'd suggest, triple h. You know, make 750 00:54:23.559 --> 00:54:28.519 the brand rules mean something. You know they Okay, I know that it 751 00:54:28.519 --> 00:54:31.599 doesn't happen every week that somebody violates the brand rules, but it's either do 752 00:54:31.719 --> 00:54:36.159 it or don't. You can't be half pregnant. You either are or you 753 00:54:36.199 --> 00:54:38.960 aren't. You don't just do this and then you know, turn your back 754 00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:42.239 on it and go Well for the storyline, we're just gonna put the you 755 00:54:42.280 --> 00:54:45.800 know, I've complained about this forever, but it's it's it's continues to show 756 00:54:45.840 --> 00:54:50.440 it's ugly head and it's like you can't have both, but it continues to 757 00:54:50.480 --> 00:54:53.039 happen. And I know I'm speaking into the ether here, but so that'd 758 00:54:53.079 --> 00:54:57.119 be another suggestion. And so I mean, of course we could come up 759 00:54:57.119 --> 00:54:59.760 with others, but I think we'll kind of close things out there. Do 760 00:54:59.800 --> 00:55:05.719 you have any final comments or suggestions or whatever. Nope, just that I 761 00:55:05.719 --> 00:55:07.960 think it's gonna be a one hell of a ride between nown WrestleMania. I'm 762 00:55:07.960 --> 00:55:12.760 really looking forward to this. Oh absolutely, this is gonna be a lot 763 00:55:12.760 --> 00:55:15.280 of fun and there'll be some hiccups and things that we just shake our head 764 00:55:15.280 --> 00:55:17.280 at, but overall, I think this is gonna be one of the best 765 00:55:17.360 --> 00:55:22.719 WrestleMania seasons we've seen in maybe over ten fifteen year years, like since the 766 00:55:22.840 --> 00:55:28.559 Ruthless Aggression Eira of This could be one of those epic WrestleMania seasons. And 767 00:55:28.840 --> 00:55:30.719 that doesn't include Stone Cold, this doesn't include the Rock, but it could. 768 00:55:30.760 --> 00:55:34.719 I mean, who knows. So all right, well, this has 769 00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.280 been a lot of fun as we get into really, to me, the 770 00:55:37.360 --> 00:55:39.199 unofficial starts to wrestle Mania season. In my mind, that's where I'm at 771 00:55:39.239 --> 00:55:43.679 already. But guys, don't forget. You can check out Anthony DeMarco's non 772 00:55:43.719 --> 00:55:47.440 PG version of this show after Dark only on Patreon at the NXT plus and 773 00:55:47.599 --> 00:55:52.280 higher levels. So check us out there and Anthony saying, thanks so much, 774 00:55:52.280 --> 00:55:54.800 buddy, we'll be chatting in a week. Yeah, man, looking 775 00:55:54.800 --> 00:56:00.480 forward to it. Enjoy Monday. Nightra you too, Thanks for listening to 776 00:56:00.519 --> 00:56:07.599 the WWE Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you 777 00:56:07.639 --> 00:56:12.920 don't miss a show, or head to wwepodcast dot com and for all of 778 00:56:12.960 --> 00:56:17.519 these shows ad free, head over to Patreon dot com slash WWE podcast. 779 00:56:17.960 --> 00:56:22.159 Until then, we'll see you next time.