WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:12.199 Hey, y'all, it's your girl, Stephanie, a V. Hardy Wrestling podcast. 2 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.359 Of course, the show has been on hiatus since after 3 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:22.960 WrestleMania due to the fact that my family has endured 4 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:30.000 an immense loss, as my mother, sephra Adeline Hopson Hardy 5 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:35.320 passed into the next life on a higher plane the 6 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:41.280 Tuesday after WrestleMania, and I have been taking some time 7 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:43.479 with my family and I've seen a lot of people 8 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:46.880 send their condolences and their love and their prayers over 9 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:50.640 the past couple of weeks, and I'm really grateful for that. 10 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:53.320 But I wanted to start this new episode of the 11 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:58.159 show by talking a little bit about her and and 12 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:03.920 how our relationship ties into wrestling, just a tadbit. Mom 13 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:08.400 was not a wrestling fan. It was always me and 14 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:11.560 my dad, and I've addressed that multiple times before, but 15 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.439 when it comes to wrestling, my mom was kind of 16 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:19.959 on the outside looking in until one day in twenty 17 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.680 nineteen were me and her in the picture as you 18 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.120 can see with Charlotte Flair. She went with me at 19 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.319 a meet and greet at Cricket Wireless here in Birmingham, 20 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.680 and she started to see how passionate wrestling fans are 21 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:36.680 and how passionate I was about it, and she always 22 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:39.120 knew it, but she had never been She had always 23 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:44.760 been on the outside looking in. And as the years 24 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:47.400 had passed by since I had started the podcast and 25 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.879 started my wrestling media career, she had been nothing but 26 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:57.040 supportive of my endeavors, giving encouraging words and all of 27 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:00.439 the above, and just telling me and reiterating me she 28 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.200 had given me my entire life to help me perform 29 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:07.560 to the best of my ability, and all things and 30 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:13.800 everything that I have done, even before the podcast and 31 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.080 even afterward, has been a testament to how she raised 32 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.439 me and my sister as well. And I just wanted 33 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:24.240 to come on here and publicly say on this platform 34 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:28.840 that HWP does not exist without Sephra, without my mom, 35 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:35.240 and because of years of her telling me, you're gonna 36 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.120 do the best you can because you're my child, and 37 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.479 because I've given you everything you need to survive in 38 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.599 this world. I'm going to continue to do that, and 39 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.319 that spirit will always live in this podcast and in 40 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.639 everything that I do from now and to the rest 41 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:55.759 of my life. So thank you, Mama for being the 42 00:02:55.960 --> 00:03:01.360 very best mom that anybody could ask for, and I'll 43 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.840 see you later, and your brown baby is gonna hold 44 00:03:03.879 --> 00:03:07.319 it down and I'm going to continue to shine my 45 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:10.280 light and not hide it because that's how you raised me. 46 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:17.080 I love you so much. This is the Hearty Wrestling Podcast, 47 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.199 all right, And with that in mind, we're gonna start 48 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:43.960 this new episode of HWP extra. Of course, I'm your girl, 49 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:48.719 Stephanie Hardy, hosting creator and founder of this fabulous platform, 50 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.080 co host of stephan Kat Talk Wow, which has also 51 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:54.520 been on hiatus. But you know, we will be back 52 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:57.319 pretty soon because I'm still trying to ease my way 53 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.840 back into things. But of course I'm not alone. I'm 54 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:04.000 happy to be here tonight with my co host, my 55 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:10.280 amazing wrestling fan, my future ring announcer of the future 56 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:12.879 Byonca Addison. Have you been lovely? 57 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:18.040 I love you? Oh god, Oh my god, You're I've 58 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.000 been well. A lot has been going on. I've been 59 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:25.199 very busy, very protective, but I've been trying to, you know, 60 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:30.519 not go bizarre, go crazy, just trying to take it 61 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:35.279 one day at a time. And uh, we've at everyone 62 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:40.959 who is watching and everyone who has been watching, and 63 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:47.120 we haven't been we haven't been doing this together for 64 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:51.040 a long time, but I just want to say on 65 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:53.759 behalf of everyone who's watching, who has watched, I just 66 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:55.680 want to say that I love you and you are 67 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:01.279 amazing and I see your resilience. I I don't know 68 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:08.120 you that I mean apart from this podcast, but I 69 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:12.319 see how you just I see how resilient you are 70 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:15.480 and how strong you are and how you just like 71 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:19.839 keep going. And I know you're hurting, but I see 72 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.920 your strength and mss Hardy, I see. I don't know, 73 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:30.839 I wish. I love hearing the stories about her through 74 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:35.319 you on this podcast. And I didn't know that she 75 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:41.040 wasn't interesting. That's that's that's very that's very interesting. The 76 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:46.839 facts you brought up and that's that. And just hearing 77 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.759 that how she this whole creation is a testament of 78 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:58.680 her and you're living her spirit lives through you and yeah, 79 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:04.120 just yeah, And I'm happy that this podcast is thriving 80 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:09.839 and you're doing the Hearty name. Very proud, and I 81 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:13.720 know she's looking down at you, very very proud. She's 82 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:17.639 smiling right now. She said, that's my baby, that's my baby. 83 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:22.879 Oh. Absolutely, Like I can't tell you because we all 84 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:26.680 still we lived together in these past few years. So 85 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.079 even as I was doing the podcast, I was helping 86 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.439 my father care for her in these last few years. 87 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:38.800 So even while I was doing the show, she would 88 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.959 always say, you know, I heard you say this or 89 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.720 talk about this and all of these things. So she 90 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:49.519 always knew, you know, that this was a passion project 91 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.920 and she was very supportive about it. She heard the 92 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:55.839 last big thing that I did with BBC, so she 93 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:59.279 knew any and everything that I was doing. She was 94 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:01.839 always very supportive of it. And even with my sister 95 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.920 as well and her endeavors, she was like a very 96 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.560 supportive force. So I know that right now she's looking 97 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.120 and she's just like, yeah, like you can do this. 98 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.920 Cause I was talking to my dad earlier. I was like, 99 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.439 I don't know if I really can push her and 100 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:18.079 do this, and he was just like, yeah, yes, you can, 101 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.120 you can do this. You've been doing this. It's okay. 102 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.560 So and one thing I can say is that while 103 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:27.519 watching wrestling, it has been giving me a great respite, 104 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.639 as it has been doing my entire life. So it's 105 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:34.000 been great, and I'm so happy to have had your 106 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:37.680 support and everyone's support, like I said earlier, and we're 107 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:40.439 going to keep the train moving for as long as 108 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.399 I can, because of course, I am a human being 109 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:47.000 and this has been hard. So I'm taking it one 110 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:50.040 step at a time and being as resilient as I 111 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.560 possibly can. But you know, I'm doing my very best. 112 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.279 And yet Bianca she was not a wrestling fan. Like 113 00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:59.920 for the longest time, she would make fun of me 114 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:04.439 and my dad and my sister, you know, watching certain wrestlers, 115 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.240 seeing certain gimmicks and making fun of things. But it 116 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.600 was it was when, but she could still tell that. 117 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.600 You know, the older I had gotten, the more I 118 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.199 started caring about it and caring about it even more 119 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.040 from a contents perspective. She was invested in it because 120 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.079 she saw she cared about what I cared about. And 121 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:27.319 that is all you could ask for, you know, from 122 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.560 a parent, and you know, and I'm really grateful to 123 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.440 have had that over the years, because some people be like, oh, well, 124 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:37.080 I don't care about that, and you know, and they 125 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.120 don't care, but no, like Mom cared because I cared, 126 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.399 and that was just her spirit of things. And of 127 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:45.480 course she would poke fun and make fun of certain 128 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:50.360 things even still now, but you know, she cared about 129 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:53.440 it because I cared about it. So with that and 130 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:55.639 with that spirit in mind, I know that there has 131 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:59.879 been so much in wrestling that has happened. We we 132 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.840 we aren't gonna talk about the releases just yet because 133 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:05.440 something that I did write down a plan for is 134 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:07.519 that I did want to do an episode about the 135 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:11.200 New Day because I feel like that, I feel like 136 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.320 that in and of itself, that faction just deserves an 137 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:18.159 entire episode in and of itself. Yeah, so we will 138 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:22.159 address that and other things, but mostly we're gonna address 139 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.240 the New Day. But of course tonight we're gonna talk 140 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.120 about Backlash, which has, you know, which has its history 141 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.440 in wrestling, and that is coming up this Saturday on 142 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:38.120 ESPN and also on Netflix internationally, and of course historically 143 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:42.879 Backlash has been the pay per view that comes after WrestleMania, 144 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.240 and WrestleMania this year, you know, for better or for 145 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:51.120 Worse was pretty insane. You know, it was a pretty 146 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:53.759 insane you know pay per view this time, of course, 147 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.360 with it being in Vegas again, so real quickly, before 148 00:09:57.399 --> 00:09:59.879 we get into the history of Backlash, Bian could tell 149 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.240 me how, you know, what did you love about WrestleMania 150 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:03.679 this year? 151 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:09.639 Oh? Wow, I really loved A J's entrance. I really 152 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.559 loved to see them. Punk's entrance me too. I really 153 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:23.480 loved Dan Housen's set and the whole gimmick with John Cena. 154 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:26.840 That was hysterical, absolutely hysterical. Couldn't stop laughing. John Cena 155 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.120 and the Miz are two of the most unserious people 156 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:32.000 on the planet in order to make all of that 157 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:36.480 happen and it's it was incredible. I loved it. And 158 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.559 I loved AJ's entrance too, because it just reminded me 159 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.320 over the years of how many little girls and even 160 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.080 grown ups our age and a little bit younger who've 161 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.799 dressed up like her, holding different belts and such. So 162 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:50.320 that was incredible. And then there was one little girl 163 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:52.759 who got too scared and kind of just ran random back, 164 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:54.960 and I was like, oh no, but you know, it 165 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.159 was really great. I loved it when children are get 166 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.039 to be a part of the show, I think that's sweet. 167 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.159 And I love Punk's entrance, And that was a lot 168 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:13.399 of great entrances this year, I must say, so. 169 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:23.080 Now it's oh I was I wasn't expecting it, and 170 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.799 I was expecting it because what was so funny was 171 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.559 I think something before that moment had me kind of upset, but. 172 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:31.399 Then when she came out and her music and I 173 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:34.120 was like, wait a minute, Bianca. And then she comes 174 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.440 out and then she's in sort of like a blue 175 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:40.279 version of the rope she had on last year, and 176 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.919 I'm just like, what's going on? And then she comes 177 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:47.480 out and announces that she's having a baby, and I'm like, oh, 178 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:52.879 the mother, gang the mother. Yeah, and then she's having 179 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:57.240 a boy. I know. I was so happy to see that, 180 00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:59.600 and it was just so interesting because of course, if 181 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:02.840 you watch Love and WWE, her and Montees, you know 182 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:05.720 have considered growing their family for a while but just 183 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:07.960 didn't know how to do it because of their careers. 184 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:11.200 So to see that it's happening now, even as she's 185 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:15.519 healing from her finger injury and stuff, I was happy 186 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:17.440 for her. But then another part of me was just like, 187 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:21.799 dang it, the pregnancy hits again, because you know, you 188 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:24.320 know when Naomi, you know, I was so happy with 189 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.679 her and her pregnancy, but you know, like when it 190 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.159 sort of takes you away and you want and the 191 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:32.600 fan in you is selfish, but then the human in 192 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.600 you is just like, you know what, Yeah, I'm glad 193 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:37.639 that you get to do this because this is something 194 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:39.519 that you really want to do and it's a choice 195 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.399 that you've made as a woman that you want to do. 196 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.360 Then that's perfect. So happy mothers ay to the both 197 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:51.759 of them, my God, happy mothers ay to both of them. Like, 198 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:56.879 I mean, it's Naomi as a mother herself, even though 199 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:59.879 she's been a stepmother, and even Bianca as a step mom, 200 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:02.480 like they get to Yeah, this is their real first 201 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.440 mother's dare. So yeah, that was incredible. I love that 202 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.919 and it was beautiful. So yeah. But then there's also 203 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.039 other parts that we do get to get into when 204 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.720 it comes to Backlash and stuff, but we'll get into 205 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.279 that a little bit later. So y'all know me on 206 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:19.519 the Hearty Wrestling podcast, we got to get into the 207 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:22.159 history of these pay per views, honey, before we get 208 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.720 into what's actually going on in the present. So, the 209 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.639 first Backlash took place in nineteen ninety nine and it 210 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:36.320 was Yeah, so it's a relatively young pay per view 211 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.919 in the grand scheme of a lot of them. And 212 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.559 as you can see, the first Flyer had mankind of 213 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:46.879 course Mick Foley giving the Rock a mandible claw and 214 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:49.600 then on the side of that, you have Randy Orton 215 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:54.679 because Backlash was held annually from nineteen ninety nine until 216 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:58.519 two thousand and nine until it was discontinued and in 217 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.799 two thousand and nine and Orton was the last person 218 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:06.279 to be on the cover of the featured superstar of 219 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:10.279 the pay per view, but then it was continued. They 220 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.759 brought it back in twenty sixteen and it was held 221 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:18.080 every year until twenty nineteen. And of course, oh, I 222 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.679 didn't write that down, surprisingly, but I do. I believe 223 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:23.879 it was the first one was in Rhode Island, if 224 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:27.759 I'm not mistaken. So I forgot to write that down 225 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:32.000 in the haste of everything, So please forgive my brains. 226 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:38.480 I'm still trying to come back to life. So yeah, 227 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:44.000 Backlash has was basically conceived to deal with all the 228 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:49.080 craziness and the aftermath of WrestleMania, even though there have 229 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:51.759 been a couple of Backlashes that had nothing to do 230 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:54.159 with WrestleMania and they just did it as a pay 231 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:57.679 per view just to have but historically they've sort of 232 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:01.600 come back to that in more later years. One of 233 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:06.360 my favorite backlashes had to do with aj Styles going 234 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.519 up against John Moxley slash Dean Ambrose for the World 235 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.799 Have You for the w W Championship, and it also 236 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:17.720 had the six Pack Challenge for I believe the inaugural 237 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:23.279 SmackDown Women's Championship in which beat Becky Lynch One. And 238 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.000 this was during the SmackDown Live era, which I really 239 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:30.320 feel like is a very underrated era and it deserves 240 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:32.679 to be celebrated a lot more because there was a 241 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.399 lot of great wrestling and a lot of great opportunity 242 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:38.879 given to so many new people at that time during 243 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.879 the SmackDown Live era. But and this was a SmackDown 244 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:43.960 branded pay per view, hence why you had a lot 245 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:48.080 of SmackDown stars there, and it was just really cool 246 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:54.399 and I really enjoyed that SmackDown that Backlash in particular. 247 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:59.080 And then of course you had the Backlash of twenty twenty, 248 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:02.679 which of course happened during the pandemic, and this one 249 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:06.519 was headlined by Adam Copeland slash Edge going up against 250 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:09.919 Randy Orton and what they deemed the greatest wrestling match ever, 251 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:12.120 which was. 252 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:14.120 Fel like that happened at WrestleMania. 253 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:19.080 It didn't, it happened at Backlash. 254 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:22.720 I felt something like this happened in WrestleMania No. 255 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:28.639 But well, yeah, this happened at Backlash that year, and 256 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.120 the thing, even though a lot of people made fun 257 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:34.559 of it online at the time, because a lot of 258 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.960 people were like, well, the greatest wrestling match ever is 259 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.799 actually this match or this match or this match. I 260 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.120 feel like, really what they were trying to do creatively 261 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.639 was just trying to celebrate wrestling as a whole, because 262 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:48.200 it felt a lot like a throwback type of deal 263 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:52.240 when it came to elements of wrestling that we had 264 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:55.000 seen over the past couple of years in the past 265 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.679 and also more so in the present at that point. 266 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:02.360 So Backlash actually holds a lot of history when it 267 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:07.240 comes to wrestling, and during the pandemic there was a 268 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:11.079 lot for us to actually embrace and talk about. And 269 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:17.400 of course this year, this year's Backlash will actually be 270 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:23.039 the first ple to take place in Tampa, Florida, because 271 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:26.559 of course it is labeled Backlash Tampa since Helen is 272 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.279 Cel twenty twenty one, which was during the Thunderdome era, 273 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:33.720 which was sort of co headlined by a Helen a 274 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:38.119 Cell match between Bianca, Belair and Bailey because of course 275 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.440 Bianca had just won the SmackDown Women's Championship against Slasha 276 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.119 Banks slash Mercedes Manet in that historic match, and Bailey 277 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.319 decided to start a beef with her and they fought 278 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:49.039 in that Hell in the Cell match, in which of 279 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:53.680 course Bianca won, And this was just a really great 280 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:59.400 hot streak for Bianca at that time. So yeah, Backlash 281 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.839 holds a lot of history in terms of wrestling. I 282 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:05.640 don't know if Bianca you've seen some of the stuff 283 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:10.920 online where they have showed wrestlers in an old promo 284 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:15.279 advertising Backlash, saying the word backlash or something like that, 285 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:18.400 But yeah, they've been sort of beefing it up a 286 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:23.720 little bit. So yeah, Bianca, how are you feeling from 287 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.000 learning some of the history of Backlash before we get 288 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.440 into our predictions. 289 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.400 I didn't realize how young it is. I thought it 290 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:36.599 was something like that. I thought. I didn't. I thought 291 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:42.000 that this like sid like in the eighties, like all 292 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:47.079 the I mean, yeah, it's I mean yeah, I mean 293 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:50.039 it is kind of just all because since it's since 294 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.880 it was in nineteen ninety nine, but I thought it 295 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:59.279 was created earlier, like in the eighties. But now I 296 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:04.920 see them clash. It's been a while, like I'm sure 297 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:11.720 I've watched Backlash. I just have to like revisit and 298 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:17.200 watch watch matches. But the information you gave me was, Wow, 299 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:26.480 it was interesting, Yeah, thinking of yeah. 300 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:27.720 Yeah, I can understand that because his back and then 301 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.079 the thing about Backlash that I was finding as I 302 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.559 was looking up the history was just how how it 303 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.640 was consistent until it wasn't and then it was brought back. 304 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.960 And then I also remember just the discourse that they 305 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.880 were having online about it at one point being called 306 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:48.720 WrestleMania backlash, as if we didn't as if the fans 307 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:53.000 couldn't really put together that backlash was after Mania like 308 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:55.559 in the past, and a lot of people were very 309 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:58.359 angry about that, until, of course they took the WrestleMania 310 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:01.359 off and then continue to just still call it backlash. 311 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.680 So that, yeah, it was hilarious and also kind of irritating, 312 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:08.559 you know, but you know the internet wrestling community, when 313 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:10.839 we when we get a bone, we don't know how 314 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:11.680 to really let it go. 315 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:13.839 Yeah. Why did I say that this is the after 316 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:16.960 math of Vesselmanium and the after Mathavesselmania is raw? 317 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.240 I mean, yeah, there is that, but I feel like, 318 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:24.680 just in terms of a Poe, I think or like 319 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.920 a pay per view. It's the first pay per view 320 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.559 after Mania, so I think that's the reason why they 321 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.200 sort of make it as big of a deal, if 322 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:35.480 not a bigger deal, because of course, the raw after 323 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:39.640 Mania is still, you know, for all intents and purposes 324 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:43.720 until recently, has been on free television, right, and it 325 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.519 does have high stakes, of course, but here again it's 326 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:50.839 still on free television, whereas Backlash is the first pay 327 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:55.400 per view after Mania, and pay per views have a tendency, 328 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.480 especially in more recent years, to have more higher stakes 329 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:01.920 because of the exclusive of it. So I think that's 330 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:05.319 really what it is. Not taken away from the grandeur 331 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:07.559 of the raw after Mania, because of course you know 332 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:10.319 that can that has a tendency to you know, turn 333 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.519 up and be kind of crazy, but you know, I 334 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:15.119 feel like because of the exclusivity of it being a 335 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:18.400 pay per view is why it's a much bigger deal. 336 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.960 That's a good question. I'm glad you asked that. So 337 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:26.720 of course, there has been so much that we did 338 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:32.440 discuss involving WrestleMania, but in terms of this year's Backlash, 339 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:35.000 there is a lot that people really aren't feeling too 340 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:38.920 pumped about, especially given the recent releases and a lot 341 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:42.200 of the decisions that people in charge have made along 342 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:46.119 with TKO and so many different things. But we are 343 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:49.920 going to continue to plug on through and talk about 344 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:54.279 this year's Backlash, which, like I said, is happening in Tampa, Florida, 345 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:58.319 and of course we're going to talk about the women first. Now, 346 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:03.640 as it stands right now, there's only one women's match 347 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:09.920 on the car for Backlash Wow, which upsets people, which 348 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.359 has upset people. That even upset me to a degree 349 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:18.519 because I'm just like just one really because in my mind, 350 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.839 when it comes to highlighting the women, I would have 351 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:25.680 loved and I'm gonna talk more about this, but I 352 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.640 would have loved to have seen maybe, you know, another 353 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.200 match take place that's happening on SmackDown Friday, happen on Backlash, 354 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:38.160 or see Live defend her title against someone. But at 355 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.200 the same time, I guess we're just but we're gonna 356 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:43.160 talk more about the other matches that I would have 357 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.200 loved to have seen, but we're gonna talk about the 358 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:47.359 one women's match that is on the card, and that 359 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:53.440 is EO Sky versus Oska. Now, this match was highly 360 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:56.359 touted as a match that should have happened at WrestleMania 361 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:01.079 because WrestleMania Sunday only had one match, which was Jade 362 00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:05.680 car Gill versus Ria Ripley for the women's title. God 363 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.279 that was the only women's match on that Sunday because 364 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:12.359 all the other female matches happened on WrestleMania's Saturday. Okay, 365 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.119 So a lot of people were really hoping that Eo, 366 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.119 especially with the way that she performed last year in 367 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:23.720 that amazing triple threat between Riha and Bianca, and just 368 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:25.920 the amazing year she had in general, that she would 369 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:28.920 have been on the Wrestmania card, but she wasn't given 370 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.839 her back and forth that she was having with Osca 371 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:35.920 over Kyrie as well. But now Kyrie is no longer 372 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:40.599 with ww du to those releases, and now you have 373 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.559 the battle of EO the Student, and then you have 374 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:49.640 Osca the Master the Sennpi And of course that's in 375 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:52.839 Japanese culture, and of course I'm not as well versed 376 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.559 in Japanese culture in that way. So there are other 377 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:58.680 creators who are like ds Shin with Ring the Bell 378 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:00.839 and so many other So if you want to seek 379 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:03.319 those people out who have more of the verbiage and 380 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:05.319 more of the lore with that. In terms of Asian 381 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:08.519 wrestling culture, you can go seek those people out. But 382 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:12.440 it seems like the biggest conflict they have is that 383 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:17.559 EO basically lashed out and left Damage Control and left 384 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:21.640 Oscar behind and her tutelage because she wanted to be 385 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.960 friends with real Ripley and just sort of be her 386 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.319 own woman and go after her own goals. And then 387 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.640 of course on Monday we saw them have that face 388 00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:33.839 off where Osca actually spit you know, the green miss 389 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:38.880 in her face. So yeah, Bianca. Before we get into 390 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:41.400 our predictions for this match, I do want to ask you, 391 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.359 do you feel the absence of Kyrie saying sort of 392 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.839 takes away from this match or are you still excited 393 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:49.440 for regardless. 394 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:58.759 I think it takes something, It takes something away from it. 395 00:24:59.640 --> 00:24:59.720 And. 396 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:09.400 Oh I am excited about the whole thing. But it's 397 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.160 just I don't want to say it's turning me off 398 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:18.640 a little bit, but I don't know it. I'm still 399 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.000 gonna watch, I still love, I'm still gonna like h 400 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:31.720 It's just there's that that that that releases I think 401 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:35.640