WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:05.559 It's business time, baby you. I'm listening to Solo Monsters 2 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:12.000 Sounds Off. I love you, so, Mama monster, dude, woman, 3 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:15.720 you got grown ass wrestlers in the back going on Twitter. 4 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:18.839 Come over here. I have the best move set. You 5 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.320 have legs. They've made Solo a monster. 6 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:24.480 I was ninety nine percent positive. It was just chessed up. 7 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:26.960 Now I want out of my contract if I don't 8 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:33.880 care what I want. This is episode nine oh one 9 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.560 of the Solemn Monster Sounds Off for Sunday, February sixteenth, 10 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.840 twenty and twenty five. I am the solom Monster. See. 11 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:46.320 My super Bowl prediction last week was right. I told 12 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.759 you the Eagles would beat the Chiefs. See, you need 13 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.880 to listen to me more off. Hey, I watched the 14 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.039 match with Zach Saber Junior and Hiroki Goto at the 15 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:59.960 New Beginning in Osaka for the IWGP World Heavyweight title, 16 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.159 and Goto won the right to challenge for the title 17 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:06.159 by winning the New Japan Rambow at the Tokyo Dome 18 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:11.120 last month, which is usually treated as you know, comedy fodder, 19 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.439 but they raised the stakes forward this year, and look 20 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:18.959 what happened. It actually paid off. Now Goto, he's been 21 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.359 a mainstay in New Japan for over twenty years. Always 22 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:24.439 a bride's maid, never a bride. You've heard me use 23 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:27.920 that expression before. He had done everything there is to do. 24 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.359 You know, he won multiple singles titles and multiple tag 25 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:35.719 team titles, g One Climax winner, New Japan Cup winner, 26 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:39.400 tons of tournament wins, everything except for winning the big one. 27 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.200 Every opportunity that he ever had to win it, he failed. 28 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:45.439 And that was the rap on him. When he gets 29 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.040 to the one yard line, he chokes. Great wrestler, but 30 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:52.159 not good enough to be the guy. But not this time. 31 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.400 And it was ten years since the last time he 32 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.480 challenged for that championship, and Goto has finished his story. 33 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:02.959 He defeated Zach Saber Junior to become IWGP champion for 34 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.799 the very first time, just a few months shy of 35 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:09.000 his forty sixth birthday, and he had his kids in 36 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.800 the ring with him after the match, and he dedicated 37 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.280 the win to his father who passed away last year. 38 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.439 Just a great moment. And you know, I know some 39 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:20.039 people were upset that Saber lost the title, has only 40 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:22.159 had it for a few months, and they think New 41 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.560 Japan did him dirty. They did not do him dirty. 42 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:27.159 He's going to be champion again. But this was one 43 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.560 of those, you know, kind of great feel good moments 44 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:32.000 in wrestling that they felt they couldn't pass up, especially 45 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:34.800 after tickets started moving when they announced Goto would be 46 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:37.240 wrestling for the title on that show. You know, that's 47 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.719 the best way to get a promoter's attention is to 48 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:43.560 move tickets, over five thousand of them, to the point 49 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.120 where they had to reconfigure the stage to accommodate more seats. 50 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:49.719 So he's standing in the ring after the match and 51 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:51.280 he says, you know, I know, I know my dad 52 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.400 was watching and this is for him. Everyone, A lot 53 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:57.520 of you probably know, but I'm an idiot. I've been 54 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.159 an idiot as I've pursued this pro wrestling life. But 55 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.000 now this idiot is a champion. Dad, I did it. 56 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.560 So he wanted his first title defense to be against 57 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:11.639 Hiroshi Tanahashi right this being Tanahashi's final year in the ring. 58 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:15.199 At their anniversary show next month is when that match 59 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:17.719 is going to take place. That Tanahashi beat him four 60 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.360 times previously in IWGP title matches, so he's going to 61 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.879 be looking for his first win if he wants to 62 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:28.120 hold onto that title and Euji Nagada challenge the winner 63 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.759 of that match. You know, Euji Nagada is fifty six 64 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:33.280 years old and Goto is going to be forty six. 65 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:37.840 Tanahashi is on his last legs. It's a nice story 66 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.639 to tell and if it helps business, then more power 67 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.400 to them. But coming out of this, whoever gets that 68 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.520 title next, unless it goes right back to Zak, it 69 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:48.599 should be one of the younger guys that they're building 70 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:51.919 up who's never held it before. I have got a 71 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.039 ton of stuff to get into this week. We had 72 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:56.120 two great wrestling shows this weekend that I'm going to 73 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:58.560 be talking about and reviewing. There was a ton of 74 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:01.280 news this week. I even got some team news, so 75 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:02.719 we're gonna get into it all. If you would like 76 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:05.280 to make a PayPal donation and show your support for 77 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:07.919 the SoundOff what I do every week, you may do 78 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:11.599 so on the Solo Monster dot com. You will find 79 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:13.400 it at the very top of the page. Ten dollars 80 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:16.040 more will get you a nickname and a shout out 81 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.639 here on this show, including these folks, the Diamond Dallas 82 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:26.040 Dance Machine, Dancing the Night Away, Harrison's Soep, Velvet Revolver, 83 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:30.160 Robert Murray, the Portland pop Star, Paul Hamilton, the Chicago Slayer, 84 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.759 Willie Iicherd, Knight Stalker, and if Alsa far best in 85 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:38.079 the game, Trey Porter, Killshot, Keith Hart, tough Guy, tem 86 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:41.839 Gen Zephyr who bought a ticket to NXT Roadblock coming 87 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.079 up on March eleventh, which is taking place at the 88 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:47.279 Theater at Madison Square Garden, and he says that he 89 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.120 is thrilled because he always wanted to see Julia Russel 90 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:55.720 live and a few others Zaria Stephanie Vequer, Trick Williams. 91 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.839 Hopefully Ricky Starks will appear, he said, I'm sure Ricky 92 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.720 will be there. I don't know if they'll identify him, 93 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.199 but I'm sure I'm sure he'll have a name by that. Yeah, 94 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.680 we're going to talk about Ricky in a little bit too. 95 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.519 But Temgin, thank you, Rebel. Jay Leonard wants to wish 96 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:15.279 his best friend Cannonball Cam Jones a very happy birthday 97 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:19.199 and eighteen years of friendship thanks to him. Jay says, 98 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.560 he listens to my content daily and he means daily, 99 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:25.519 and he had some very kind words for me as well. 100 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:27.759 So Jay, I appreciate that. I'm very glad you enjoyed 101 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.759 the content. I'm going to wish Cam a happy birthday 102 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:32.639 as well. You're very lucky to have a friend like 103 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:38.000 that for eighteen years and shared big Daddy boyd. I 104 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.879 want to wish him a very happy birthday. And also 105 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.759 to Jessica, stay strong. I hope your mom is doing better. 106 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.879 Sending positive vibes your way, and don't forget you know, 107 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.399 if you want to pick up a free audio book, 108 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:53.319 you know, I don't mention this often enough, but we 109 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:57.240 do have a special offer exclusively for sound off listeners, 110 00:05:57.720 --> 00:05:59.519 and there are a ton of great books. It doesn't 111 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:01.439 have to be but there's a ton of great wrestling 112 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:03.120 books that you can get for free. You might even 113 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:05.720 be able to get two of them for free if 114 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.800 you are an Amazon Prime member. All you got to 115 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.839 do is use the link audibletrial dot com slash solom Monster, 116 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.680 and if you sign up for the thirty day trial 117 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:18.120 of the Audible service, you will be able to get 118 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.639 at least one free book. And then even if you 119 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:23.079 cancel that trial before it's over, you get to keep 120 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:25.000 your book. They're not going to come. They're not going 121 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:28.839 to send a posse to your door to take your 122 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:31.600 digital book away from you. So whether it's one of 123 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.519 Jim Ross's books, including his new one, business is about 124 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:38.680 to pick up John Moxley's book, Becky Lynch's book, or 125 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.680 any number of books. Guy Evans has that great Nitro book, 126 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.079 make sure you take advantage of that audibletrial dot com 127 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:51.920 slash solomn Monster. I did watch NXT Vengeance Day last night, 128 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.240 but first we got to take it back to earlier 129 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:58.079 in the week because there were three names, all of 130 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:01.079 whom are likely WWE bound. One of them is already 131 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.399 on NXT television, so we already know one of them 132 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:07.600 is in WWE, but three names that Tony Kahn released 133 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.959 from their contracts. Malachi Black is one of those people. 134 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:14.399 He is no longer with AW and there was talk 135 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:17.600 of his deal not being up originally until twenty twenty seven, 136 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:20.879 because that came from Tony Kahn many years ago when 137 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:23.439 he said, oh, I've got Malachi and Adam Cole locked 138 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:26.839 up until twenty twenty seven. Well if he did, he 139 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:31.000 doesn't anymore. Obviously, Malachi was able to negotiate a quicker 140 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:36.120 exit because he's gone. Miro is also gone from AAW 141 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:41.199 and per pw Insider we are told Miro and AW 142 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:44.399 mutually parted way, setting the stage for his exit from 143 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.439 the company. There was talk that he had asked for 144 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:48.920 his release back in the fall of twenty twenty four. 145 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:51.800 The two sides had been working towards an agreement for 146 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:55.160 some time, and they also mentioned that Miro has signed 147 00:07:55.160 --> 00:08:00.839 with Paradigm for representation in all areas of Hollywood, as 148 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.639 have many WWE stars by the way, Damian Priest and 149 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:08.399 CM Punk, Tiffany Stratton, Drew McIntyre, Live Morgan, I think, 150 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:12.360 Jade Cargill. They're all represented now by Paradigm, which is 151 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:14.959 one of the top Hollywood agencies, so you could add 152 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:19.120 Miro to that list. And Ricky Starks was given his 153 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:23.079 release from AAW months before his contract was due to expire, 154 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:27.040 So all those free Ricky hashtags, Ricky has been freed. 155 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:30.160 And it didn't take very long, all of twenty four 156 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:33.279 hours for him to show up on WWE television because 157 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.559 right in the middle of Tuesday's NXT show, there he 158 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:39.679 was coming through the crowd with a microphone in his hand. 159 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:43.320 They never identified him by name, but they spoke like 160 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.440 they all knew who he was, and he cut up 161 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.480 promo saying that if NXT is the future of professional wrestling, 162 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:53.480 then it needs a true superstar of the future. Everyone's 163 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.320 been begging the question when will the Revolution be televised? Again, 164 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:01.399 he said, I'm here, ain't I? And then last night 165 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.600 of Vengeance Day he wasn't there live, but they are 166 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:06.399 to pre tape promo where he said he would be 167 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:12.440 signing his NXT contract this Tuesday, And again he nor 168 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:17.159 the announcers made any mention of his name, and people 169 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.000 are freaking out over them not mentioning his name. You know, 170 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:21.960 they're not gonna let him use it, and they're gonna 171 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.200 saddle him with one of these terrible fucking names they 172 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.240 just trademarked last week. It's quite the list. By the way, 173 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:30.720 if you haven't seen this list of names we have, 174 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:34.600 I don't know if it's O Sirius or Ozoris. I'll 175 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:38.320 say Oziris Ozius. Griffin is one name that they trademarked. 176 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:43.120 Hayes Jamison. I've been in a few hazes after drinking 177 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:50.720 Jamison in my day. Trill London, Harley Riggins, Draco Knox. 178 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:55.120 I think this one may be my favorite. Braxton Cole 179 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.360 like they just fused Michael Cole together with Caleb Braxton. 180 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:03.759 There's a photoshop for you. So anyway, you had people 181 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.000 worry that Ricky Starks was going to be Trill London 182 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:11.399 or some such thing. Not realizing they literally rushed him 183 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:15.279 onto TV, Like he got out of his contract on Monday, 184 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.919 and he was on television by Tuesday. Okay. And while 185 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:22.200 I'm sure they had some sense that eventually he was 186 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.120 going to leave and they were gonna be able to 187 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:27.759 bring him in, they could not legally do anything until 188 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:30.559 he was free, so on twenty four hours notice, I 189 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.279 doubt they went through all the proper legal channels to 190 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.960 license the man's name from him, because that is his name, 191 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:40.559 so he can absolutely use it. See what I did there, 192 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.879 But I would imagine the company has to go through 193 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:45.919 a process to license it from him if they want 194 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:47.399 to use it on TV, if they want to use 195 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:50.440 it on merch. I would not have a panic attack 196 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.799 just he had about the name. This all happened very quickly. 197 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.320 You know, Ethan Page, he left AW and he came 198 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.080 to NXT as Ethan Page. Sean Spears left AW and 199 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.480 he came to NXT as Sean Spears. There is no 200 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.320 reason that Ricky Starks cannot be Ricky Stark's now. I 201 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.600 don't know why Tony Khan decided now was the right 202 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:11.440 time to release them all in a bunch like this, 203 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.960 but I'm glad he did. Ray Phoenix is still under contract, 204 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:18.759 but Chris Featherstone, i saw of Sports Kita, says that 205 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.559 negotiations between Phoenix and Tony Khan to end Phoenix's tenure 206 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:26.039 with the company are progressing and a resolution is expected 207 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.200 to happen soon, and he says he was also informed 208 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.080 that Tony Khan has been heavily advised to put an 209 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:37.679 end to this soon. Regarding Phoenix's holding period. I'm not 210 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:41.639 sure who's advising him, But remember those tweets that Ray 211 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:47.039 Phoenix put out and quickly deleted talking about inhumane treatment, right, 212 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.519 we didn't know what he meant by that. If there's 213 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:52.320 a there there with some of the things that he 214 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.519 was tweeting about, and he's got some stories to tell, 215 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:56.720 then yes, maybe it is in Tony Khan's best interest 216 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:59.240 to put an end to this soon. I'm sure with 217 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.159 a nice nda to go with it. But you know, 218 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:04.120 if he let the other three go, there's really no 219 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:05.919 reason for him to hold on to Phoenix if he's 220 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:08.240 not going to use him, and that's that's the case 221 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.039 with any of these guys, and that's been my whole 222 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:12.399 thing this entire time. I understand not wanting to set 223 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.120 a precedent or anyone who's unhappy and who's under contract 224 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:17.679 can just go to you and say, hey, you know what, 225 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.679 I'm not happy. I want to leave, and they end 226 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.879 up going to WWE. But if he's not going to 227 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.399 use them, then work something out where they can leave 228 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.919 and maybe they could work anywhere but WWE for a 229 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.720 period of time, Right, if they really want out that badly, 230 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.320 if it's not just hey, I want to leave so 231 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.919 I can go work for you know, for mister Leveck 232 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.159 over there, then maybe work it out in that way, right, 233 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:44.120 if they're that adamant about leaving. But there's just no 234 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.240 point in paying these people just to let them sit 235 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:50.720 home and do nothing or just work indies, right, it's 236 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:55.919 just wasteful spending. Starks was clearly going to go to WWE, 237 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.279 and I think starting on NXT is actually the right move, right. 238 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.759 If they were going to off on this debut for 239 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:03.879 later in the spring or in the summer, I think 240 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:06.799 I might feel differently about it. But you bring this 241 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.279 guy in two months before WrestleMania, where he is not 242 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:12.600 going to be factored into any major WrestleMania plans. You 243 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.399 know what, It's better to start him off on the 244 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:16.519 brand where he could be a top guy right out 245 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:20.440 of the gate, instantly, instantly. Ricky Starks is a top 246 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:23.360 star in NXT. That wouldn't be the case if he 247 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:25.080 debuted on Row. That wouldn't be the case if he 248 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:29.960 debuted on SmackDown. Anyone who's not familiar with who he 249 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:33.159 is is going to become familiar very quickly, and a 250 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.600 run on top would do him a lot of good 251 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.080 for when he finally does get called up. Plus, let's 252 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:42.080 be honest here, the NXTAM men's division could use someone 253 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:44.360 like him right now, okay, because they they could definitely 254 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:48.279 use the help on the men's side. Malachi, I've talked 255 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.440 about him a lot already. He started out with a 256 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:53.919 lot of promise and then just got stuck in tags 257 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.480 and trios for a lot of his run there when 258 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.120 there was still money to be made with him as 259 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:02.120 a single star. Know, he was clearly frustrated at various 260 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:03.919 points of his run. He even asked for his release 261 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.440 at one point he got denied, right, there's no need 262 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.360 for him to start with NXT. Triple H just needs 263 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.240 to do what he did with him on NXT on 264 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.360 the main roster, and I think he will do well. 265 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:18.080 Someone like him could work on his own. Someone like 266 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:20.039 him could work as the new leader of the Judgment 267 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.919 Day and replacing Finn Balor, and that he could even 268 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:29.000 feud with Balor. You know. Someone on the SmackDown Scream 269 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.639 the other night suggested a Cody Rhodes like debut for 270 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.559 him at WrestleMania, where he returns as the mystery opponent 271 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.600 for someone who ends up not having an opponent, like 272 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:41.200 a Drew McIntyre. Drew McIntyre is going to have an opponent, 273 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:43.879 but I could see something like that. I don't know 274 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:45.879 who you would put him in the ring with, but 275 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:49.200 I could see something like that. Or just hold off 276 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.840 on his return for the week after WrestleMania. You don't 277 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:58.360 have to give everything away before WrestleMania. And then there's Miro, 278 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.159 who has not read led a match for AW since 279 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:07.960 a win over Andrade at World's End in twenty twenty three. 280 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.799 Then he was injured after that, Then he got divorced. 281 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:13.039 I think he moved back to Bulgaria for a time, 282 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.519 so he went through some shit personally, but that does 283 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:20.759 not explain why in twenty twenty three he only worked 284 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.879 seven matches, all of which were either on Collision or 285 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:26.919 on pay per view. There were two of them on 286 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:31.360 pay per view. He hasn't worked a match on Dynamite 287 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:37.679 in three years. Three years he hasn't wrestled a single 288 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:42.519 match on their flagship show. His only singles losses in 289 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.440 five years working for Tony Kahan were to Sammy Gavarro 290 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.039 when he lost the TNT title, and to Brian Danielson. 291 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.159 That was in the finals of an eliminator tournament at 292 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.279 full Gear. You know when that was. That was in 293 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:59.080 twenty twenty one. That was the last time Miro lost 294 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:03.000 a match if you don't count the four way that 295 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.480 he was a part of at that first Forbidden Door 296 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:09.960 pay per view. Like, these numbers in these stats are insane, 297 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.480 especially for someone who you would not consider a top 298 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.600 guy on the level of a Roman Raids or a 299 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.279 John Cena, or in aw terms, a Kenny Omega or 300 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:21.960 a John Moxley. Right, he was not at that level 301 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.879 of stardom, but he seems to have had a lot 302 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:27.759 of say in how he was booked, and that was 303 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:29.399 one of the raps on him over the years, is 304 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:31.240 that the company would pitch ideas to him and he 305 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:34.240 would turn them down. Right. It's not that they didn't 306 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:36.639 want to use him, but whenever they did, he didn't 307 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.399 like what was being presented to him, and so it 308 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.759 just never worked out. Right. There was a report, now 309 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:44.399 it was from Dave, but a few years ago there 310 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:46.720 was a report in the Observer that Miro was going 311 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:49.039 to lose a Battle Royal. It would come down to 312 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.080 him and Hangman Page and he was going to lose 313 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:54.440 the Battle Royal, and supposedly he refused the idea. He 314 00:16:54.480 --> 00:17:00.519 didn't want to lose. And then his wife at the time, CJ. Perry, 315 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.119 was doing an interview somewhere and said that russe v 316 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:08.640 Day would be back in WWE one day. Everyone returns 317 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:13.599 to WWE at some point. That's what she said, which 318 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:16.359 I could understand Tony Kahan hearing that, even though it 319 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.400 was his wife and not him who said it, right, 320 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.759 they were husband and wife, and your wife is out 321 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.359 there publicly saying, yeah, everybody goes back to WWE. He'll 322 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:28.160 be back there one day. I could see that not 323 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:32.640 sitting well with his current employer. Now that's one side 324 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:36.359 of the story about him rejecting creative pitches. One day 325 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:38.559 Miro will say his piece, and he may deny it, 326 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:40.640 or he may have a different version of what happened. 327 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.440 But his entire run from start to finish was just weird. 328 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:46.799 And I don't think all of that can be laid 329 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.079 at Tony Kahn's doorstep. I think there's blame to go 330 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.400 around though why Miro's run in AW failed. Right, his 331 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:56.920 redeemer character was really good. But when you look at 332 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.039 his run from start to finish in this company, I 333 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:02.039 don't see how you can classify it as anything other 334 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:07.119 than a failure the redeemer character. I would love to 335 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:11.119 see some adaptation of that in WWE if he goes back. 336 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.599 There's talk of maybe Lana even rejoining him. If he 337 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.640 goes back. I guess they must be on good terms 338 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:19.279 even though their no longer husband and wife, if they 339 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:23.359 want to work together, Meltzer says. Those close to MirOS 340 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:26.440 say that he was constantly pitching ideas to AAW for 341 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:29.240 the both of them, and they never went anywhere. And 342 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.079 then when AW let her go. That was the kind 343 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:33.920 of the straw that broke the Campbell's back and it 344 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.960 led to him asking for his release. Obviously he didn't 345 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:40.240 want to be there anymore. I've always said, you know, 346 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:42.240 if he really wanted to work, if he wanted to 347 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.440 work that badly, he would have been back on TV. 348 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:48.160 If he wanted to work, he would have had more 349 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.480 than seven matches in twenty twenty three, or if he 350 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.000 wasn't going to be on AAW television because there were 351 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:58.680 creative differences, right, I'm sure he had the right to 352 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.920 go out there and book his own independent dates. Right. 353 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.279 We didn't see him working indies. He just wasn't working, right, 354 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:10.319 not wrestling matches. If you wanted to work, he would 355 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:14.359 have been back on TV in twenty twenty four. Miro 356 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.799 did not want to be there, Ricky Starks did not 357 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.519 want to be there. Ray Phoenix does not want to 358 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:23.720 be there. So how long do you drag this out 359 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:26.279 and pay them When you're not getting any return on 360 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.759 your investment, It's best to just part ways and make 361 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:34.359 room for other free agents, someone like Josh Alexander, for example, who, 362 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:37.440 according to Fightful, is expected to sign with AW if 363 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.519 he has not already done. So. He enlisted the help 364 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:45.559 of superagent Barry Bloom to represent him in contract negotiations, 365 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:47.079 which should have been a sign right there that he 366 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.279 was looking to get paid number one and number two. 367 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.720 Barry Bloom has represented a whole bunch of AW names, 368 00:19:53.799 --> 00:20:00.359 Chris Jericho, will Osprey, Young Bucks. I saw Jordan Grace 369 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.200 tweeted to see you soon at Alexander after he finished 370 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:07.440 up with TNA on Friday. But it looks like AW 371 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:11.319 is going to be his landing spot, and he's super talented. 372 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.599 But I actually think AAW is the better destination for him. 373 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.680 I do. I don't know if he still wants the 374 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.640 ability to work indies. I think he just wrapped up 375 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:23.960 his indie commitments and sounded like he was pretty much 376 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.880 done with it all. But maybe he wants to work 377 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.720 New Japan, or maybe he just wants to get paid, 378 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:32.279 you know. And Tony Kuhn was willing to pay him 379 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:34.359 more than what WWE would have been willing to pay 380 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.480 him for an NXT deal, which is where he would 381 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.440 have ended up had he gone there. He would have 382 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:44.160 done well in NXT on the main roster. I don't 383 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:45.720 think he would have been nearly as big as he 384 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:49.000 was in TNA in AW I actually feel like he 385 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:53.000 has a better shot. I may eat those words, but 386 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:53.880 that's how I feel. 387 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.480 Hey, it's Chris Vanfleet and since you clearly enjoy great 388 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.400 wrestling podcasts like this one was Solo Monster. When this 389 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:03.480 one's done, if you're interested, go check out my podcast 390 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.480 Insight with Chris Faanvlee. All my interviews that you might 391 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:08.680 have seen on YouTube or maybe you've seen clips of 392 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.519 on social media, they're all available in audio form. 393 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.599 I just had Pent on. 394 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:15.599 The show for his first full length interview since debuting 395 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.640 in WWE. It's one of my favorite. 396 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:18.880 Interviews I've ever done. 397 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:23.000 And some other recent guests include seth Rawlins, Jordan Grace, Baron, 398 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:28.079 Corbin Kurt Angle, Dan Housen, Michelle McCool, and so many more. 399 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:31.960 Check out Insight with Chris VanVleet on Spotify or Apple 400 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:34.799 or wherever you're listening right now, or go look for 401 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:36.720 these interviews on YouTube as well. 402 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:41.160 I watched NXT Vengeance Day and I thought it was 403 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.319 a strong show, good crowd too. In DC. They were 404 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:47.640 pretty hot for pretty much the entire show, and that 405 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:50.160 energy is a big part of one made those old 406 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:53.839 NXT takeovers feel so special. It was still only the 407 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:57.240 second best show of the weekend, though behind Grand Slam Australia. 408 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:00.079 They were both very good shows, but I give the 409 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.880 edge to Grand Slam. Stephanie Viquier is the new Women's 410 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.920 North American Champion with her win over Fallon Henley. I 411 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:12.200 like Fallen. I think before the draft last year, I 412 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.680 pitched for her to get called up. She's not on 413 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.359 Stephanie's level, but she was good enough to hold her 414 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:19.759 own in there and they had a good opener. I 415 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.200 actually think the crowds are more invested in Stephanie than 416 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.440 they are in Julia, and they liked Julia. I mean, 417 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:29.160 so do I. But Stephanie's reactions are just a notch 418 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.720 above and it's not hard to see why she's great. 419 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:34.759 The announcers went on about how she just became the 420 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:38.880 first ever South American born champion in WWE, but as 421 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.640 someone pointed out to me, Ezekiel Jackson was born in 422 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:46.559 Guyana and he was the Intercontinental champion, so the announcers 423 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:50.319 on their own show were incorrect. She is the second 424 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:56.160 South American born champion ever in WWE. Axiom and Nathan 425 00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:58.839 Fraser have quietly become one of the best tag teams 426 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.519 in all of wrestling over the place. They always have 427 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:05.279 good to great matches. They retain their NXT tag team 428 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:09.400 titles over Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamora, who was on 429 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:13.640 excursion from Pro Wrestling Noah. I take it that when 430 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.000 they sent Briggs over there last year for like a month, 431 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:19.319 the two of them struck up a friendship, and now 432 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:21.440 they're tag team partners. I've seen a couple of their 433 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:24.559 matches together on TV. They haven't had that many, but 434 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:26.880 in Amora is still pretty new to me, so I 435 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.599 don't know a whole hell of a lot about him. 436 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:31.119 By the end of this match, though, even he had 437 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:34.359 fans chanting his name, and I just I love how 438 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:38.119 Briggs just traded one tag team partner for another. But 439 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:40.759 I thought everybody looked good here. This turned into a 440 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:42.680 hell of a match. I would even say the best 441 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:45.200 on the entire show. I had this over the main event. 442 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:48.319 I just love that they're more open to sending their 443 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:51.720 talent to other promotions and inviting other talent in like 444 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.880 you know, in Amora to work shows for a while 445 00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:57.200 before he goes back It's just something that I'm still 446 00:23:57.240 --> 00:24:00.400 not used to them doing. You know, every other promotion 447 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:04.079 pretty much has always done this, but WWE they were 448 00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:06.920 always you know, no open voters here. You know, they're 449 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:09.359 all very walled off, and I think we know why. 450 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:12.599 But even if this is only for NXT and they 451 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:14.400 don't really do this on the main roster, I like 452 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:18.240 that they're doing it at all. After the match was over, 453 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:22.279 both teams got jumped by a group of mystery men 454 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.759 who had their faces covered and it gave me retribution vibes, 455 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:29.839 which is not a good thing, and the fans chanted, 456 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:33.440 who are you at them? So I guess I know 457 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.319 they've been teasing this for a little while. I think 458 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:39.680 they've had some teasers on TV and glitches and stuff, 459 00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:41.960 so it's not like it came completely out of nowhere. 460 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:44.799 But that's all we got here. That was not the 461 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:48.079 last time we would see them either. They put Eddie 462 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:53.079 Thorpe over Trick Williams in a scrap match, and the 463 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:57.240 fans in the crowd they were shook hands on their 464 00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:59.920 heads the whole deal because they could not believe that 465 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:03.119 they had Trick Williams loose to this guy. Now I 466 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:06.720 have not been following their story every single week. I've 467 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:08.759 seen bits and pieces of it. I know Eddie was 468 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.640 obsessed with trying to win the NXT Championship when Trick 469 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:14.880 was still champion. They did that angle where he tricked 470 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.640 no pun intended. He tricked Ava into giving him a 471 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.440 title shot by pretending that he was attacked backstage by 472 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:24.839 a mystery attacker and then revealed that he was never 473 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:28.160 really attacked at all, right after he signed the contract 474 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:31.119 to a title match, which was clever, even though it 475 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:35.160 made Ava look like an idiot. So I know of 476 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:37.240 some of the stuff going into it. I thought the 477 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:39.680 match was decent, you know, he was still the weakest 478 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:43.240 match on the entire show compared to everything else. Obviously 479 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:46.559 for Eddie Thorpe, it's a huge win, and my expectation 480 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:48.359 is that they'll run this back and Trick I'll get 481 00:25:48.359 --> 00:25:50.759 his win back. But I still thought it was the 482 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:54.960 weakest of all the matches on the show. Ethan Page 483 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.160 and Javon Evans, on the other hand, this I really enjoyed. 484 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:02.759 Javon Evans is he's something else. When he did that 485 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:05.480 wild dive out of the ring in the first like 486 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:08.440 thirty second, not even thirty seconds of the match, and 487 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:12.640 he went soaring over Ethan Page and he overshot the 488 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:15.960 announced desk. It reminded me of one of those amazing 489 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:18.599 red dives that he's busted out a few times at 490 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:20.920 hog shows, where he just goes flying into the third 491 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:23.279 row and it always scares the shit out of me 492 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:26.119 when he does it. But for someone as young as 493 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.559 he is, you know, Javon is only twenty years old. 494 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:31.599 He's already worked a match with Randy Orton, Like you 495 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.039 see the potential there for him to be something special. 496 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:37.880 And they worked the match around the jaw injury that 497 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:41.319 Ethan gave him. In storyline, Evans was out there wearing 498 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.400 a mouthpiece so big I'm surprised that that didn't dislocate 499 00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:47.160 his jaw, but it got knocked out of his mouth 500 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:49.720 near the finish when Page smacked him out of mid 501 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:53.079 air on a springboard and that led to a twist 502 00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:56.079 of fate by Page for the win. So I really 503 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:58.119 enjoyed this. I thought, I thought it was good stuff. 504 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:03.759 We had Obae defending his NXT championship against Austin Theory 505 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:08.559 and Grayson Waller and this just reeked of. We don't 506 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:10.960 have an opponent for Oba. So let's just make use 507 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:13.319 of these two guys because we're not doing anything with 508 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:18.039 them right now anyway. And that's really all this was. Now, 509 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:21.160 this was what you would expect with Theory and Waller 510 00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:23.640 working together only for the cracks the show as the 511 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:26.599 match progressed because each of them wanted to become the 512 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.640 NXT champion, so you knew it would end that way. 513 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:32.839 They've been teasing a breakup with these two since the 514 00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:36.480 Reagan administration, and they did it again here, which means 515 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:39.359 that we'll likely get another six months of this before 516 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:42.440 they finally pulled the trigger. But they ended up having 517 00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:45.039 a pretty good match here. Oba is the real deal. 518 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:47.880 I've said that before. Oba Femi is just I mean, 519 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:50.240 he's just got all the tools to be a major, 520 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:53.160 major star on the main roster, and he will be 521 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:58.400 the wanna be Retribution group came back out again. They 522 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:00.640 attacked Oba when the match was over, for two of 523 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.720 the guys actually flung him up into the air. It 524 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:06.119 Ohpa is a big dude, and they threw him up 525 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:07.839 into the air and another guy caught him on the 526 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.359 way down for a power bomb, so that looked cool. 527 00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.759 You know, whether this New Faction hits. Who knows, But 528 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:16.519 I just I can't help but look at them and 529 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:21.480 think retribution. I just I just can't. I'm scarred. I'm 530 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:25.400 still scarred to this day. I can't help it. And 531 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:27.559 they closed the show with the four way match for 532 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:31.480 the NXT Women's Championship, with Julia retaining her title over Bailey, 533 00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:35.880 Roxane Perez, and Corra Jade, who was a late addition 534 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:38.240 to the match. I figured they added her to eat 535 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:41.839 the pin, but Julia Pinnroxanne to retain the title. But 536 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:43.880 if Roxanne is getting the call up soon, then it 537 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:47.319 makes sense. So we got to see Julia and Bailey 538 00:28:47.599 --> 00:28:51.359 mix it up for the first time, and while not 539 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:54.079 as messy as some of the work was with Bailey 540 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.640 and Lyra on Raw last Monday, that was their first 541 00:28:57.640 --> 00:29:00.559 time in the ring together, there were moments here where 542 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.759 these two clearly were not on the same page, and 543 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.119 Bailey actually looked the roughest that of all four women 544 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:09.000 in this match. There were a bunch of spots where 545 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:12.119 she was just off, you know, just like in the 546 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:15.640 Lyra match on Raw. But Julia retains in a very 547 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:18.960 good main event. Stephanie Viquier, she walks out to the 548 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:23.400 ring after with her North American Championship. They pose together, right, 549 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:27.160 her and her BFF and Stephanie was definitely sneaking a 550 00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:31.799 peek at that NXT Women's Championship. But then right so, 551 00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:34.960 as they're doing this and I'm thinking, okay, they're setting 552 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.599 up a champion against champion match for Stand and Deliver, 553 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.200 then we hear the sirens and it's Jordan Grace, So 554 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:46.119 now we know why they chose to close the show 555 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:49.759 with this. Jordan Grace gets into the ring and they 556 00:29:49.799 --> 00:29:52.119 go off the air with all three women staring each 557 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:55.759 other down in the ring. As if the NXT women's 558 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:59.200 division wasn't strong enough, it's a lot stronger with Jordan 559 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:01.880 Grace in it. I didn't think she needed to go 560 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.000 back to NXT. I still think she doesn't need to 561 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:06.400 go back to NXT. She already spent time down there. 562 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:09.559 But if they have no WrestleMania plans for her, then 563 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:11.279 at least she'll have something to do for the next 564 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:13.640 few months and they could call her up whenever. Right 565 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:15.519 whenever they're getting ready to call her up, she'll be 566 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:18.079 ready to be called up. But they've got a women's 567 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:21.880 division headed up by Julia, Stephanie, Vicaire and Jordan Grace 568 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:28.039 and Roxanne is still down there for now Zaria and 569 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:30.240 I forgot to mention the stuff they're doing with Zaria 570 00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:34.119 and sol Ruka. Sol Ruka is trying to humanize her. 571 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.839 I actually get a kick out of it. But that 572 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:39.440 division right now is in good hands. Now. The question 573 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:41.680 is what's the match for Stand and Deliver? Right. They 574 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:43.359 had a segment on the show last week in the 575 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:45.920 back where Julia and Stephanie they wished each other luck 576 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:48.920 at Vengeance Day and Stephanie said, after she wins the 577 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:53.000 North American title, there's only one place left to go, right. 578 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.640 They were teasing Champion against Champion, So would they do that, 579 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:02.079 would they do Grace against or are we heading for 580 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:04.880 a triple threat match with all three of them? I'm 581 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:08.480 thinking Jordan Grace against Julia, but any combination of those 582 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:12.240 three would be fantastic. So I enjoyed it. I thought 583 00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:15.599 it was a very good show on the whole. I've 584 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:19.880 got another update on Vince McMahon, who was spotted at 585 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:22.480 the super Bowl in New Orleans last weekend. He finally 586 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.640 shaved off that fucking Boris Badanov mustache from Rocky and Bullwinkle. 587 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:31.160 He was hanging out with the Undertaker looking like happy Corbin. 588 00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.240 Shane McMahon was there as well. A federal appeals court 589 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:39.079 ruled that a former lawyer for Vince McMahon was wrong 590 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:43.400 to withhold documents related to McMahon's handling of two hush 591 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:48.599 money settlement deals with former WWE employees. In September twenty 592 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:53.000 twenty three, federal prosecutors subpoened McMahon's lawyer, who was unnamed 593 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:57.039 in court documents, along with their law firm, seeking all 594 00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:00.640 communications related to the settlements. One of the employees is 595 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:03.240 believed to be Jenelle Grant, who reached a three million 596 00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:07.559 dollar settlement with McMahon. Another seven and a half million 597 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:11.640 dollars settlement was made with an unnamed former WWE employee 598 00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:16.240 or talent. I think it was a talent, female talent 599 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:18.240 that worked for the company in the mid two thousands. 600 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:22.640 While some materials were turned over, McMahon's lawyer withheld two 601 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:26.599 hundred and eight pages of documents, citing attorney client privilege. 602 00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:29.559 Prosecutors sought a court order for their release, and a 603 00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:32.720 lower court ruled in their favor on Monday, the Second 604 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:35.559 US Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, stating that the 605 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:38.920 documents were not protected by attorney client privilege due to 606 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:43.240 the crime or fraud exception. The appellate judges wrote because 607 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:46.519 the settlement agreements resolving the victim's claims were structured and 608 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:50.359 negotiated to keep them hidden from the company, The District 609 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:53.319 Court found that all communications about the claims and settlement 610 00:32:53.319 --> 00:32:57.599 agreements were made in furtherance of the criminal scheme to 611 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:01.200 keep the company and its auditors unaware of the allegations. 612 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:04.400 The court found reasonable grounds to believe McMahon and his 613 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:10.200 lawyer circumvented WWE's internal controls, created false records, and misled 614 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:13.839 auditors to keep the settlements hidden. As a result, WWE 615 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:16.559 had to revise its financial settlements in August of twenty 616 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:21.119 twenty two to account for the previously undisclosed payments. Unless 617 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:23.960 McMahon's team appeals to the Supreme Court, they would be 618 00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:26.839 required to turn over the documents to the grand jury 619 00:33:27.400 --> 00:33:31.279 investigating him. So they make mention of him being the 620 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:33.880 subject of a grand jury investigation as if the case 621 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:36.240 is still active and ongoing, and yet in the New 622 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:40.319 York Post this week, it says. McMahon's lawyer, Robert Allen, 623 00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:44.359 dismissed the court's ruling as irrelevant, stating that the documents 624 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:47.440 will not be reviewed as part of a criminal investigation because, 625 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:51.440 according to him, the case has been closed. He said, 626 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.319 this is simply the result of an appeal of a 627 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:57.119 procedural matter that was argued five months ago. We have 628 00:33:57.160 --> 00:34:00.160 been inconsistent communication with the government since that time. I'm 629 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:05.440 understand no ambiguity that the investigation has definitively concluded and 630 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.599 will not result in charges. Also in the Post article, 631 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:12.840 it states that prosecutors decided to drop the case sometime 632 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.800 by or before January tenth, which is when the SEC 633 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:19.320 announced that it had reached a settlement with McMahon to 634 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:23.760 resolve the cover up claims now the Southern District of 635 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:26.760 New York. They have not commented on whether the investigation 636 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:30.159 is still ongoing because they usually don't comment on these things. 637 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:32.760 So the only people that have said that it's no 638 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:38.679 longer ongoing are Vince's lawyers. And if true, that decision 639 00:34:38.840 --> 00:34:43.599 comes despite a judge in this case, Judge Valerie Caproni, 640 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:49.079 ruling previously that prosecutors had established probable costs to believe 641 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:51.519 that McMahon and one of his former lawyers broke the law, 642 00:34:52.199 --> 00:34:54.840 and again in the appeal this week, all three judges 643 00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:58.159 uphel Caprony's ruling that interactions between McMahon and the lawyer 644 00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:01.840 were not protected by attorney client privilege because it was 645 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:06.199 a key part of the investigation into a crime. So 646 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:09.039 what we've learned is that the investigation was all about 647 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:12.800 Vince and his lawyer allegedly concealing documents related to his 648 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:17.599 many many settlements, and the government was not investigating him 649 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.320 for sex trafficking or anything like that. That remains something 650 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:24.159 he's accused of by Janelle Grant, and that's a civil case, 651 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:27.360 not a criminal one. But through this we did also 652 00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:30.039 learn more about that seven and a half million dollar settlement, 653 00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:32.840 which is the largest one that we know of from 654 00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:37.440 all the settlements and the nbas around Vince. It was 655 00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:42.679 noted that on December third, twenty eighteen, the former talent's attorney, 656 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:45.440 now the former talent in this case would be the 657 00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:48.679 woman who got the seven and a half million dollar settlement. 658 00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:53.360 The former talent's attorney sent Vince's lawyer a letter alleging 659 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:56.639 that during her time with the company years earlier, McMahon 660 00:35:56.719 --> 00:36:00.159 had attempted to kiss her, expose himself to her, and 661 00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:03.559 obtained non consensual oral sex from her, all while she 662 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:07.000 was employed by the company. She claimed she was retaliated 663 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:09.920 against for refusing to have sex with McMahon, and she 664 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:13.920 was seeking eighteen million dollars in damages on or about 665 00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:20.519 December tenth, twenty eighteen, which actually I December twenty eighteen, 666 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:23.079 I think, wasn't that the month where all the McMahons 667 00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:27.559 stood in the ring and lied to us about how 668 00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:31.840 the fans have the power and creative sucks and we 669 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:35.039 recognized that creative sucks, and then they all blamed it 670 00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:39.119 on Baron Corbyn. Yeah, good times, Honor. About December ten, 671 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:42.760 twenty eighteen, the filing states, the person being investigated and 672 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.880 the former performer meant to discuss her claims and agreed 673 00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:48.639 on a settlement amount of seven point five million dollars. 674 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:52.840 The parties met, or the parties agreed rather that McMahon 675 00:36:52.840 --> 00:36:55.719 would pay that out over five years in exchange for 676 00:36:55.760 --> 00:36:58.760 confidentiality and a release of any claims that she or 677 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:02.239 her husband had or might have had against him or 678 00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:06.599 the company. Negotiations and revisions continued until the agreement was 679 00:37:06.639 --> 00:37:11.920 signed on February thirteenth, twenty nineteen. Now I know Dave 680 00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:14.360 and the observer. He also mentioned that there were discussions 681 00:37:14.360 --> 00:37:17.639 in the negotiations of the woman writing a book about 682 00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:21.719 her experiences, you know, regarding her turning McMahon down and 683 00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:25.400 being sent from the main roster to developmental and then 684 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:28.960 having her contract not renewed. But she would not be allowed, 685 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:30.719 I guess, to write a book so long as the 686 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:35.599 person being investigated, which we presume to be Vince, was 687 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:38.559 still alive. So I don't know if that was ultimately 688 00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:41.239 agreed to or not, but if so, then it's possible 689 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:44.079 she may reveal her identity once Vince is no longer 690 00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:46.960 around and she writes a book about it. I mean, 691 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:49.400 people have been speculating about who the woman is since 692 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:52.039 it first came out in the Wall Street Journal. I 693 00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:55.119 have my suspicion about who it is, you know, as 694 00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:58.559 someone who was on the main roster and then got 695 00:37:58.559 --> 00:38:02.119 sent down to developmental around that time and then disappeared 696 00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:04.559 from the company. I have my suspicions, but I won't 697 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:07.519 say who I think it is. As far as prosecutors 698 00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:11.679 not bringing charges against Vince clearly they had a case 699 00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:15.119 against him. The judges felt the same way, but it 700 00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:18.239 wouldn't have mattered because even if they did bring charges 701 00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:21.719 against him, there's not a chance in hell, there is 702 00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:25.639 not a chance in hell that this Justice Department would 703 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:28.599 allow that to go anywhere. And even if it did, right, 704 00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:31.119 he would be pardoned anyway. So it would have been 705 00:38:31.119 --> 00:38:34.519 a gigantic waste of everybody's time, a gigantic waste of 706 00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:38.960 money and spent for what for nothing. Right, as soon 707 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:41.440 as the results came in on November fifth, this case 708 00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:45.920 was effectively over. But this does not mean that he's 709 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:48.880 still not facing a sex trafficking lawsuit. And there has 710 00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:50.800 been no update since the last one that I gave 711 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:54.320 you about whether Janelle Grant's amended complaint has been accepted 712 00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:57.000 by the court. Because she did file an amended one. 713 00:38:57.800 --> 00:39:00.760 Vince McMahon, John Lorinidis and WWE they have until this 714 00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:04.920 Friday to respond to that amended lawsuit, and until that's resolved, 715 00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:06.679 there's no update as to whether or not the case 716 00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:08.519 is going to go to trial, which is what she wants, 717 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:12.000 or going to binding arbitration, which is what all the 718 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:14.519 others want, And that's going to be the most important 719 00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:16.719 decision made in this case, because if the decision is 720 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:19.800 made that she should be free from the NDA that 721 00:39:19.880 --> 00:39:23.239 she signed and she could take this to trial, that 722 00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:25.760 makes it a whole lot more likely that the sex 723 00:39:25.840 --> 00:39:28.760 pest ends up offering her a nice, big fat settlement 724 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:31.840 to make all of this go away. If it goes 725 00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:35.719 to arbitration, then that's a different story. But if it's 726 00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:39.000 ruled that this can go to trial, I very seriously 727 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:43.000 doubt this ever ends up going to trial. Raw was 728 00:39:43.079 --> 00:39:46.159 better than SmackDown this week, but not by much. The 729 00:39:46.199 --> 00:39:49.559 in ring is what really carried Raw, but also by 730 00:39:49.639 --> 00:39:52.400 virtue of not being three hours that automatically gives Raw 731 00:39:52.440 --> 00:39:55.639 a leg up on SmackDown. And speaking of SmackDown, PW 732 00:39:55.639 --> 00:40:00.679 Insider is reporting that road Dog Brian Jane James has 733 00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:04.320 been named the new lead co writer for SmackDown, joining 734 00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:09.280 John Swakata an unfortunate last name because that's not how 735 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:13.440 I read it in heading creative for the Blue Brand, 736 00:40:14.360 --> 00:40:18.719 and hearing this, I find myself filled with dread. Sounds 737 00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:22.760 like he's first taking over. Now, this triple H does 738 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:24.719 not get a pass for this. SmackDown has not been 739 00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.079 great for a while. Now, it's not like the show 740 00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:32.679 couldn't use an overhaul. But road Dog, I guess the 741 00:40:32.760 --> 00:40:37.079 DX takeover of creative across the entire company is nearly complete. 742 00:40:37.079 --> 00:40:40.360 We just need Waltman now in charge of Raw. This 743 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:42.360 is the same road Dog who took over as the 744 00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:45.079 lead writer on SmackDown at the end of twenty sixteen, 745 00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:49.000 and the quality of the show nosedived after that, to 746 00:40:49.039 --> 00:40:51.880 the point where the fans even started a hashtag fire 747 00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:55.880 road Dog on social media. But that was also still 748 00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:58.599 the Vince McMahon era, and what we saw on TV 749 00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:01.679 was what Vince McMahon wanted us to see, or what 750 00:41:01.719 --> 00:41:04.960 they thought Vince McMahon wanted to see. So now the 751 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:07.239 sex pest is gone and road Dog is writing for 752 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:10.199 someone else, so we'll see how that goes, you know. 753 00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:12.000 Road Dog said, one of the reasons he quit his 754 00:41:12.079 --> 00:41:14.719 head writer the first time was that he was just 755 00:41:14.719 --> 00:41:17.039 sick and tired of Vince McMahon tearing his work apart. 756 00:41:18.039 --> 00:41:20.159 So was it a case where he had good ideas 757 00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:23.639 and Vince made them worse or did Vince change them 758 00:41:23.719 --> 00:41:26.800 because they sucked? And as bad as what we saw 759 00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:29.079 on television, was it would have been even worse had 760 00:41:29.119 --> 00:41:31.599 he not ripped it apart and changed it. See that's 761 00:41:31.639 --> 00:41:36.760 the question, right. He was one of the ones writing 762 00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:39.079 at the time for the KOFE Mania stuff. Heading into 763 00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:42.840 WrestleMania thirty five, he was writing for the Angle with 764 00:41:42.960 --> 00:41:46.760 Randy Orton joining the Wyatt family. But my god, I 765 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:49.920 mean was there was so much bad shit during that period. 766 00:41:50.440 --> 00:41:53.840 And it wasn't just SmackDown. It was both shows at 767 00:41:53.920 --> 00:41:58.519 various points between twenty seventeen and twenty nineteen, like during 768 00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:00.480 that period. For all the good things things that we 769 00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:03.519 did get out of that period, because it wasn't all bad, 770 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:06.159 but for all the good things we may have gotten, 771 00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:10.719 it was the absolute creative bottom for that company. Just 772 00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:15.599 dreadful at three hours. I don't know that anybody can 773 00:42:15.639 --> 00:42:18.079 save SmackDown. I don't think that show is going to 774 00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:20.840 get tolerable until it goes back to two hours in 775 00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:22.239 a few months, and we're just going to have to 776 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:24.840 just grit our teeth and wait until we get there. 777 00:42:26.159 --> 00:42:29.599 That's not an excuse, though, to put on boring shows, right, 778 00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.280 you could certainly come up with some fresh ideas, but 779 00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:36.679 I really don't think SmackDown is going to benefit from 780 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:39.920 any changes now in the way that it could until 781 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:42.119 they reduced the show from three hours to two hours, 782 00:42:42.119 --> 00:42:44.920 because they're still working with a two hour roster and 783 00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:47.159 they're trying to stretch, and it's making for these long, 784 00:42:47.199 --> 00:42:50.280 boring stretches where maybe the third hour is good, but 785 00:42:50.320 --> 00:42:54.079 the first two are fucking terrible. Like it's just SmackDown 786 00:42:54.119 --> 00:42:56.280 has become the worst show of the week. So if 787 00:42:56.320 --> 00:42:58.000 they want to make changes to the show, I don't 788 00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:01.760 see how it can get much worse. You know. It's like, Okay, well, 789 00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:05.320 let's see what happens. But I'm telling you, the three 790 00:43:05.400 --> 00:43:07.480 hours is not the only problem with smack Down, but 791 00:43:07.519 --> 00:43:11.159 it's a very big problem with that show right now. Now, 792 00:43:11.159 --> 00:43:13.119 going back to Raw Monday night, they opened the show 793 00:43:13.159 --> 00:43:15.840 with a hot angle with Jay Usso coming out doing 794 00:43:15.840 --> 00:43:19.679 his entrance. Everybody's going wild, and then Gunther comes out 795 00:43:19.719 --> 00:43:22.519 and trips him up and we got a brawl between them, 796 00:43:22.519 --> 00:43:24.960 and then ultimately Jay says, you know what, I've made 797 00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:27.159 my choice, Gunther. It's going to be you and me 798 00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:30.800 for the World Heavyweight Championship of WrestleMania. It was the 799 00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:33.480 obvious choice. Everybody knew he was going to pick. Gunther. 800 00:43:33.639 --> 00:43:36.639 That's not a surprise, but the way they did the angle, 801 00:43:36.679 --> 00:43:39.960 I thought it was well done. Then you fast forward 802 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:43.079 to SmackDown on Friday. Charlotte Flair comes out after Tiffany 803 00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:47.239 Stratton's match with Naya Jacks and chooses Tiffany as her 804 00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:52.159 opponent to challenge for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania, 805 00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:55.119 which again not a surprise. I think most people expected 806 00:43:55.159 --> 00:43:56.840 that it was going to be Charlotte and Tiffany and 807 00:43:56.880 --> 00:44:02.280 not Charlotte and Rhea Ripley. Trish Gratis was on SmackDown 808 00:44:02.320 --> 00:44:04.639 Friday night as well. We come to find out that 809 00:44:04.719 --> 00:44:07.039 she's going to be teaming with Tiffany against Naya and 810 00:44:07.119 --> 00:44:10.360 Candace Lay in Toronto at the Elimination Chamber. So getting 811 00:44:10.400 --> 00:44:13.280 Trisha on that show in Toronto makes all the sense 812 00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:15.960 in the world. She tried to come to Tiffany's eight 813 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:18.400 on Friday after her match with Naya, and so she 814 00:44:18.519 --> 00:44:21.199 got kind of all mixed up with Naya and Candace. 815 00:44:21.400 --> 00:44:23.639 Hence the tag team match that we're going to be getting. 816 00:44:24.920 --> 00:44:27.800 A Ria Ripley is not going to be defending against 817 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:30.519 Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania. However, she will be defending her 818 00:44:30.559 --> 00:44:33.800 Women's World title against EO Sky, but it will not 819 00:44:33.880 --> 00:44:36.400 be at WrestleMania, but it will be on the raw 820 00:44:36.519 --> 00:44:40.440 after the Elimination Chamber. That does not mean that we 821 00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:44.239 still won't get it though. At WrestleMania, we still could 822 00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:46.880 very well end up getting Rihea Ripley and EO Sky. 823 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:49.679 But if we do, it's going to have to be 824 00:44:49.719 --> 00:44:52.280 a triple threat match because the winner of the Elimination 825 00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:55.679 Chamber is guaranteed a shot at Rhea's championship. Now that 826 00:44:55.760 --> 00:44:59.480 we know that Tiffany has her opponent, that Elimination Chamber 827 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:03.800 match comes a shot, a guaranteed shot at Rhea Ripley's title. 828 00:45:04.119 --> 00:45:07.719 EO Sky is not in the Elimination Chamber. So if 829 00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:10.360 you are someone who wants to see EO Sky challenging 830 00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:13.199 Riao Ripley at WrestleMania, then gonna you're hoping for a 831 00:45:13.199 --> 00:45:15.280 triple threat match is what you're hoping for, because that's 832 00:45:15.320 --> 00:45:17.880 the only way that it happens. And I'm gonna get 833 00:45:17.880 --> 00:45:20.719 into the media stuff here in a second, so we'll 834 00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:23.840 talk about what that might look like. But Logan, Paul, 835 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:28.079 Damian Priest, Bailey, and Naomi they have all qualified this 836 00:45:28.199 --> 00:45:32.360 week for their respective elimination chamber matches, So there's only 837 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:36.480 a couple of spots left. Lyra Valkyria and Chelsea Green. 838 00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:39.039 Those are your two women's mid car champions right now. 839 00:45:39.079 --> 00:45:42.760 In WWE. Lyra is the Intercontinental champion. Chelsea Green is 840 00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:47.199 the United States champion. They both got pinned in qualifying 841 00:45:47.239 --> 00:45:52.920 matches in the same week. It's just bad optics. Both 842 00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:55.880 of your champions get pinned and beaten in the same week. 843 00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:58.440 What does that say for what WWE and Triple AH 844 00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:02.280 thinks of these two titles that they established. This is 845 00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:04.639 this is the reason why I was not against the 846 00:46:04.679 --> 00:46:08.000 idea of them establishing an intercontinental title, okay, or a 847 00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:10.480 US title one of the other. Right, I would prefer 848 00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:14.360 IC because if you ask me, of all with the 849 00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:17.400 men's titles, even like, what do I look at better 850 00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:19.519 the Intercontinental title of the US. Well, I grew up 851 00:46:19.519 --> 00:46:22.159 with the Intercontinental title and watching those guys and watching 852 00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:24.519 those matches, so I will always choose the IC over 853 00:46:24.559 --> 00:46:28.000 the US. But I was in favor of trying it 854 00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:30.000 and saying, you know what, they have the talent for it. 855 00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:32.360 They just have to come up with good stories. But Okay, fine, 856 00:46:32.360 --> 00:46:34.719 you want to introduce an IC title, go for it. 857 00:46:35.119 --> 00:46:38.519 Don't do both. Just because you do one doesn't mean well, 858 00:46:38.559 --> 00:46:40.960 we got to do the other. Start out with one, 859 00:46:41.199 --> 00:46:44.679 even if the champion floats between shows, see how it goes, 860 00:46:46.079 --> 00:46:49.559 and if it goes well, you can always introduce a 861 00:46:49.599 --> 00:46:53.039 women's US title later in the year. You don't have 862 00:46:53.079 --> 00:46:54.679 to do them both at the same time. So what 863 00:46:54.679 --> 00:46:56.239 did they do. They did them both at the same 864 00:46:56.280 --> 00:46:59.039 time because we have we have to have, you know, 865 00:46:59.159 --> 00:47:03.079 parody here between the two brands. And I am unimpressed 866 00:47:03.239 --> 00:47:04.920 by what they have done so far. It's only been 867 00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:09.559 a couple of months. I am thoroughly unimpressed. Lyra Valcarry 868 00:47:09.639 --> 00:47:11.880 is going to be defending her title soon against Ivy Nile. 869 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:14.079 That's what they seem to be building towards. But she 870 00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:17.320 won that championship on January thirteenth. I believe it was right. 871 00:47:17.360 --> 00:47:20.360 She beat Dakota Kai in the finals, and up until 872 00:47:20.360 --> 00:47:22.800 this past week, I'm not even counting the Royal Rumble. 873 00:47:22.840 --> 00:47:25.440 I mean, in terms of matches she had not wrestled. 874 00:47:26.599 --> 00:47:28.280 She won the title, and then she sat and did 875 00:47:28.280 --> 00:47:30.639 nothing for a month, and then her first match after 876 00:47:30.639 --> 00:47:35.840 winning the Championship. She fucking loses. What are we doing here? 877 00:47:38.679 --> 00:47:41.519 So yeah, that's the state of those two titles right 878 00:47:41.519 --> 00:47:44.880 now as they currently exist. But you know, all this 879 00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:46.920 talk about wrestle media, Let's talk for a little bit 880 00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:50.119 here about wrestle media forty one because I see a 881 00:47:50.119 --> 00:47:52.480 lot of discourse on the line about WrestleMania. What do 882 00:47:52.519 --> 00:47:54.360 you think of the cards so far? I should point 883 00:47:54.400 --> 00:47:58.039 out that we legitimately only have two matches official. Okay, 884 00:47:58.679 --> 00:48:02.119 we only have two matches so far official for WrestleMania, 885 00:48:02.239 --> 00:48:05.719 so we don't know for sure where things are gonna land. Right. 886 00:48:05.760 --> 00:48:08.199 We could come back and have this conversation and run 887 00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:10.000 this back in a month and be like, wow, okay, 888 00:48:10.039 --> 00:48:11.360 well this is a hell of a lot better than 889 00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:13.800 what I thought it was gonna be. But I think 890 00:48:13.920 --> 00:48:16.480 we have a pretty good sense of where certain things 891 00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:20.360 are headed. So the question is, like, what do you 892 00:48:20.400 --> 00:48:24.920 think about the WrestleMania card so far? The way it 893 00:48:24.960 --> 00:48:27.159 looks like it's shaping up. Do you think it's good? 894 00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:30.239 Do you think it's lackluster. If you think the WrestleMania 895 00:48:30.320 --> 00:48:32.719 card feels lackluster, this is a good reason for that. 896 00:48:33.719 --> 00:48:35.800 And you got to remember where we were a year ago. 897 00:48:35.960 --> 00:48:39.039 A year ago, all of the talk was around the Rock. 898 00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:42.360 But what the Rock almost did to Cody Rhodes and 899 00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:45.079 his title match of WrestleMania, and then they had to 900 00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:47.119 blow up their plans and they had to pivot, right, 901 00:48:47.199 --> 00:48:50.760 That was the word of WrestleMania season. They pivoted, We 902 00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:53.280 have to pivot. Well, they made the pivot, and it 903 00:48:53.360 --> 00:48:55.719 was the right pivot to make because we ended up 904 00:48:55.719 --> 00:48:59.480 with Final Boss Rock, which injected an energy into the 905 00:48:59.519 --> 00:49:02.199 shows that just isn't there when he's not there because 906 00:49:02.239 --> 00:49:05.880 he's The Rock. So obviously when he's around and he's 907 00:49:05.960 --> 00:49:09.239 playing heel and he's healing on the fans, right, it's 908 00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:12.559 very entertaining and it's just a different vibe when he's around. 909 00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:14.719 So we have The Rock on TV on some weeks, 910 00:49:15.559 --> 00:49:19.559 and Cody Rhoades was finishing his story, this fucking story 911 00:49:19.559 --> 00:49:21.679 that he was going to finish, right, This story they 912 00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:25.159 were telling for two years. It was all culminating in 913 00:49:25.199 --> 00:49:29.039 that rematch with Roman Reigns a WrestleMania. That's the difference 914 00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:31.280 between the wrestle Media build from a year ago and 915 00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:34.719 the WrestleMania build from now. They had that coarse story 916 00:49:35.119 --> 00:49:38.719 that long term story with Cody that they paid off. 917 00:49:39.239 --> 00:49:42.679 They don't have anything like that this year, and they 918 00:49:42.679 --> 00:49:47.599 don't have the Rock, at least not yet. They don't 919 00:49:47.639 --> 00:49:50.960 have the Rock on the show. So you wonder what's 920 00:49:50.960 --> 00:49:53.400 missing from where we were a year ago. That's what's missing. 921 00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:56.519 And so you look at some of the matches that 922 00:49:56.559 --> 00:49:58.719 are being proposed, and some of the matches are more 923 00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:00.960 appealing than others. But I think that has a lot 924 00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:02.840 to do with why this card so far is feeling 925 00:50:02.960 --> 00:50:06.400 very lackluster compared to last year, because those are two 926 00:50:06.599 --> 00:50:08.960 very big things that we don't have going into this 927 00:50:09.039 --> 00:50:13.119 year's show. Cody Rose is now the defending WWE champion. 928 00:50:13.639 --> 00:50:15.840 Who is he going to defend his title against? There's 929 00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:18.599 still multiple options as to who that could be. The 930 00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:21.760 likeliest option is John Cena. John Cena is in the 931 00:50:21.800 --> 00:50:25.199 elimination Chamber. He didn't have to qualify for it because 932 00:50:25.199 --> 00:50:28.320 he's John Cena. He was in the Royal Rumble, he lost, 933 00:50:28.920 --> 00:50:32.559 He's going into the elimination Chamber. I don't want to 934 00:50:32.559 --> 00:50:34.559 get ahead of myself with predictions. I think it's a 935 00:50:34.559 --> 00:50:36.599 hell of a lot more likely he wins this time. 936 00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:40.119 So we're looking at Cody Rose against John Cena. That's 937 00:50:40.159 --> 00:50:42.320 probably if you had to rank them in terms of 938 00:50:42.360 --> 00:50:44.920 possible matches, the one that would be ranked number one 939 00:50:44.960 --> 00:50:48.480 as far as the likeliest to happen. Now, I will 940 00:50:48.519 --> 00:50:51.920 point out to you that last week on Pat McAfee's show, 941 00:50:51.920 --> 00:50:54.239 he had Ari Emanuel on right, he's the head of 942 00:50:54.280 --> 00:50:57.199 everything when it comes to Endeavor and Tko, he's the 943 00:50:57.239 --> 00:51:00.719 head Hans show, And he was talking about the elimination 944 00:51:00.920 --> 00:51:05.239 Chamber and ari Emmanuel said, March first, I think there 945 00:51:05.239 --> 00:51:10.440 are some pretty good things going to happen there. What 946 00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:14.440 did he mean by that? I'm sure Ari Emmanuel was 947 00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:17.119 not on Pat McAfee's show talking about how great the 948 00:51:17.159 --> 00:51:20.719 women's elimination Chamber is going to be. This is gonna 949 00:51:20.760 --> 00:51:23.079 be some pretty good things going on there. We're gonna 950 00:51:23.079 --> 00:51:26.719 get Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus against Naya Jackson Candas 951 00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:29.119 lore No. I don't think that's what he was talking about. 952 00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:33.159 What did he mean by that? Could we still get 953 00:51:33.199 --> 00:51:36.559 the Rock on the WrestleMania car. He's been awfully quiet lately. 954 00:51:38.239 --> 00:51:41.519 Is he going to show up in Toronto? I mean, 955 00:51:41.599 --> 00:51:45.199 unless he somehow ends up inside the chamber. I don't 956 00:51:45.239 --> 00:51:48.880 know what he would be there to do. But then again, 957 00:51:48.920 --> 00:51:50.840 he showed up a bad Blood and that didn't lead 958 00:51:50.880 --> 00:51:53.400 to anything either. So do I think The Rock is 959 00:51:53.440 --> 00:51:55.719 going to show up and end up wrestling Cody? No, 960 00:51:55.880 --> 00:51:58.639 I don't. Because they have a chamber match, We're going 961 00:51:58.719 --> 00:52:01.480 to have a winner. That's the person going on to WrestleMania. 962 00:52:01.719 --> 00:52:03.679 Could The Rock still have some kind of involvement in 963 00:52:03.719 --> 00:52:07.519 the show, even, you know, away from Cody, It's possible. 964 00:52:07.559 --> 00:52:09.599 I just I don't know what he meant by that comment, 965 00:52:09.679 --> 00:52:13.039 unless that was just, you know, the CEO and president 966 00:52:13.119 --> 00:52:14.960 of this big company just trying to hype up a 967 00:52:14.960 --> 00:52:16.599 big show coming out. It could have been as simple 968 00:52:16.599 --> 00:52:19.480 as that, but it caught my eye when I read 969 00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:23.480 what he said, because if that somehow led to Cody 970 00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:27.199 and Rock for the WWE title, let's just say hypothetically somehow. 971 00:52:27.320 --> 00:52:30.280 I don't see how that would happen, but somehow, if 972 00:52:30.320 --> 00:52:32.840 it led to Cody and Rock for the WWE Championship, 973 00:52:33.360 --> 00:52:35.880 that would open up John Cena to wrestle Logan Paul. 974 00:52:36.719 --> 00:52:38.760 Because right now I don't have a match for Logan 975 00:52:38.800 --> 00:52:41.079 Paul at WrestleMania. I don't know who he wrestles. If 976 00:52:41.079 --> 00:52:43.519 not John Cena, the only name I could come up with, 977 00:52:43.719 --> 00:52:45.440 and I actually I could see this, and I think 978 00:52:45.440 --> 00:52:49.079 it would be a great match is AJ Styles. I 979 00:52:49.119 --> 00:52:52.079 could see Logan Paul and AJ Style. AJ just got 980 00:52:52.119 --> 00:52:54.599 moved over to Raw. Logan Paul is new to raw. 981 00:52:55.079 --> 00:52:59.360 They've never worked before one on one. Actually, you know 982 00:52:59.400 --> 00:53:01.400 now that I mentioned that, I kind of liked that match, 983 00:53:02.440 --> 00:53:04.760 So maybe they could do Logan and AJ. But I 984 00:53:04.760 --> 00:53:06.639 think we're looking at Cody and Cina. Then you go 985 00:53:07.119 --> 00:53:12.400 further down the card. Roman Reigns, Right, Roman Reigns is 986 00:53:12.440 --> 00:53:15.039 not going to be back on television until after the 987 00:53:15.039 --> 00:53:18.360 Elimination Chamber. They didn't want him in the chamber because 988 00:53:18.360 --> 00:53:19.880 he wasn't going to win the chamber and they didn't 989 00:53:19.880 --> 00:53:22.159 want to beat him. They didn't want to pin him. Right, 990 00:53:22.199 --> 00:53:24.039 It's one thing to be dumped out of the Royal Rumble. 991 00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:27.199 It's another thing to get your shoulders pinned to the mat. 992 00:53:27.440 --> 00:53:31.679 So Roman Reigns, CM Punk and seth Rawlins. When we 993 00:53:31.760 --> 00:53:34.800 last saw Roman and all those guys at the Rumble, right, 994 00:53:34.840 --> 00:53:37.039 they were all kind of tangled up together there when 995 00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:41.519 everybody got dumped out of the ring, and it seems 996 00:53:42.079 --> 00:53:44.320 very likely that Roman will be in the ring with 997 00:53:44.440 --> 00:53:47.400 at least one of them, But I don't really have 998 00:53:47.440 --> 00:53:50.000 a good spot for Punk if he's not a part 999 00:53:50.079 --> 00:53:53.719 of this, So I think we're looking at a triple 1000 00:53:53.719 --> 00:53:57.800 threat match Roman, Rains, CM, Punk and seth Rawlins, all 1001 00:53:57.840 --> 00:54:00.840 of whom have different issues with each so you can't 1002 00:54:00.840 --> 00:54:02.920 say there is in history there with some of them. 1003 00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:05.840 And Punk has that favor from Paul Hayman. Is he 1004 00:54:05.880 --> 00:54:07.400 going to catch that in in some way or are 1005 00:54:07.400 --> 00:54:10.000 they going to hold off on that. I think it 1006 00:54:10.039 --> 00:54:12.519 would be a great match. I think it's a compelling match. 1007 00:54:12.599 --> 00:54:15.800 I always in these situations, would much rather a singles match, 1008 00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:18.840 you know, like a hot one on one match with 1009 00:54:18.920 --> 00:54:22.320 some deep story to it. But that would be big. Look, 1010 00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:24.239 you know, you put Rains, Punk and Rollins in the 1011 00:54:24.320 --> 00:54:28.079 ring together, it's gonna be a big match. Gunther is 1012 00:54:28.119 --> 00:54:30.480 going to be defending against jay usso we already know that, 1013 00:54:30.920 --> 00:54:33.760 and there's a story there to be told. Tiffany Stratton 1014 00:54:33.840 --> 00:54:36.480 is going to be defending against Charlotte Flair. That's been confirmed, 1015 00:54:37.239 --> 00:54:39.760 and that's the match I've been figuring going back to 1016 00:54:39.880 --> 00:54:42.800 probably last fall, that that was the match that we 1017 00:54:42.800 --> 00:54:46.800 were going to end up with Rhea Ripley defending her 1018 00:54:46.800 --> 00:54:50.519 Women's World title against who to go back to what 1019 00:54:50.559 --> 00:54:52.599 I was saying before, She's going to defend against EO 1020 00:54:52.679 --> 00:54:55.880 sky On. I guess that would be March third, on 1021 00:54:55.960 --> 00:55:00.119 the March third episode of Raw. We don't know the 1022 00:55:00.159 --> 00:55:02.639 women yet who are going to be in the elimination chamber. 1023 00:55:02.719 --> 00:55:05.039 I'm looking at the elimination chamber and the name I'm 1024 00:55:05.039 --> 00:55:09.079 looking at is Live Morgan. Live Morgan winning the elimination 1025 00:55:09.239 --> 00:55:12.880 Chamber to wrestle Ria Ripley or WrestleMania would be ridiculous 1026 00:55:12.920 --> 00:55:15.519 because they have played out the Rhea Ripley and Live 1027 00:55:15.559 --> 00:55:18.639 Morgan story already and they blew it off on the 1028 00:55:18.679 --> 00:55:20.800 Netflix premiere and that should have been the end of it. 1029 00:55:21.559 --> 00:55:23.760 But if we get Live Morgan winning in the chamber, 1030 00:55:24.559 --> 00:55:26.599 and then if Live Morgan gets involved in the Rio 1031 00:55:26.679 --> 00:55:30.119 Ripley EO sky match, right Ria or Live in Raquel. 1032 00:55:30.199 --> 00:55:31.960 Let's say they get involved and we get no winner, 1033 00:55:32.599 --> 00:55:35.199 we get no definitive winner between Rio Ripley and Eoski, 1034 00:55:35.280 --> 00:55:37.840 and March third, then what I think we're looking at 1035 00:55:37.920 --> 00:55:41.119 is a triple threat match with Ria Ripley defending her 1036 00:55:41.119 --> 00:55:46.559 title against Live Morgan and Eosky. So that to me 1037 00:55:47.079 --> 00:55:51.760 is the likeliest scenario here. There are other options because 1038 00:55:51.800 --> 00:55:54.920 Bianca Belair, for example, has qualified for the elimination Chamber. 1039 00:55:54.920 --> 00:55:56.880 I would love to get Rhea Ripley and Bianca bel 1040 00:55:56.920 --> 00:56:00.599 Air at WrestleMania, but at this point it would just 1041 00:56:00.599 --> 00:56:04.840 feel rushed, right because they've had no interaction. Bianca has 1042 00:56:04.880 --> 00:56:08.599 involved in a completely different storyline right now, and so 1043 00:56:08.679 --> 00:56:10.760 I hate to say it, but I think they've already 1044 00:56:11.199 --> 00:56:13.480 kind of missed the boat on doing that match this year. 1045 00:56:14.280 --> 00:56:16.760 Probably better off holding off until forty two at this point. 1046 00:56:17.840 --> 00:56:20.440 So that's what I'm looking at this going Rhea live 1047 00:56:20.519 --> 00:56:22.880 an EO is what I think the match is going 1048 00:56:22.920 --> 00:56:27.719 to be at WrestleMania. Kevin Owens and Sammy's ain They're 1049 00:56:27.760 --> 00:56:32.320 headed for yet another battle. Kevin Owens was on SmackDown 1050 00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:36.119 in a pre recorded video as Sammy was, but Kevin 1051 00:56:36.159 --> 00:56:39.280 Owens said, in response to the video that Sammy sent 1052 00:56:39.360 --> 00:56:41.960 in talking about his injuries and how we're going to 1053 00:56:42.039 --> 00:56:43.920 do the dance again, I'm gonna get my hands on you, 1054 00:56:43.960 --> 00:56:47.440 blah blah blah, Owen said, Okay, let's do it. He 1055 00:56:47.480 --> 00:56:51.039 invited him to Toronto cleared or not, because Samy's Ain 1056 00:56:51.079 --> 00:56:53.920 is not medically cleared. You come to Toronto and we'll 1057 00:56:53.920 --> 00:56:57.079 do it in Toronto. I don't know that Sam's Ain 1058 00:56:57.159 --> 00:56:59.119 is going to be medically cleared on TV to have 1059 00:56:59.159 --> 00:57:02.239 a proper match elimination chamber, but they're definitely shooting an 1060 00:57:02.280 --> 00:57:06.320 angle or doing something unsanctioned at that show, which makes sense. 1061 00:57:06.360 --> 00:57:08.119 They're gonna be in Canada, and it's kind of where 1062 00:57:08.119 --> 00:57:11.719 they both started out together. Big crowd in Toronto. I 1063 00:57:11.719 --> 00:57:14.320 mean they're at the SkyDome. You know they're not gonna 1064 00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:16.840 have sixty or seventy thousand people. I think they basically 1065 00:57:16.920 --> 00:57:19.559 have it set up for thirty thousand, but it's going 1066 00:57:19.599 --> 00:57:22.639 to be a big show. So the question is if 1067 00:57:22.679 --> 00:57:25.400 they don't do a proper match, are they saving the 1068 00:57:25.719 --> 00:57:28.679 actual match between them for WrestleMania And what the hell 1069 00:57:28.719 --> 00:57:30.719 does that mean for Randy Orton? Because we have not 1070 00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:33.199 seen Randy Orton since he got taken out by Kevin 1071 00:57:33.239 --> 00:57:36.199 Owens with a pile driver. He has not been seen, 1072 00:57:36.239 --> 00:57:37.880 he has not been heard from, He was not in 1073 00:57:37.920 --> 00:57:40.480 the Royal Rumble. Is he going to show up in 1074 00:57:40.519 --> 00:57:43.320 Toronto and go after Kevin Owens. It doesn't feel like it. 1075 00:57:45.639 --> 00:57:47.320 So are we going to get some kind of an 1076 00:57:47.320 --> 00:57:52.519 angle instead of a proper match in Toronto? And then 1077 00:57:52.559 --> 00:57:56.599 do Owens and Zane in Las Vegas. I don't know 1078 00:57:56.639 --> 00:57:58.559 what that means for Randy Orton. If you do that, 1079 00:57:59.119 --> 00:58:01.239 it doesn't make any sense to me. For Randy Orton 1080 00:58:01.280 --> 00:58:04.280 to eventually come back and not target Kevin Owens for 1081 00:58:04.360 --> 00:58:06.320 what he did to him and just ignore it. That 1082 00:58:06.440 --> 00:58:11.559 just doesn't make sense to me. It just doesn't unless 1083 00:58:12.519 --> 00:58:16.800 Cody retains at WrestleMania. Randy Orton makes a surprise return 1084 00:58:16.599 --> 00:58:22.000 on SmackDown that week after Mania, and the first thing 1085 00:58:22.039 --> 00:58:24.360 he does is he drops Cody with an RKO out 1086 00:58:24.360 --> 00:58:26.800 of nowhere, and we're left to wonder what the fuck why? 1087 00:58:28.159 --> 00:58:30.280 And then the following week we get the promo from 1088 00:58:30.320 --> 00:58:34.559 Randy explaining how he came to agree with Kevin Owens. 1089 00:58:34.960 --> 00:58:39.159 He sees things the way that Ko does. Yeah, that 1090 00:58:39.199 --> 00:58:42.199 Cody is duplicitous and Cody is a terrible friend and 1091 00:58:42.239 --> 00:58:44.880 doesn't care about anybody but himself, and that's how we 1092 00:58:44.920 --> 00:58:47.280 get Cody and Randy. Randy just sort of comes around 1093 00:58:47.320 --> 00:58:53.800 to the same idea. Maybe that's the plan. Drew McIntyre 1094 00:58:53.880 --> 00:58:57.400 is another one. I wish Drew McIntyre had something better, 1095 00:58:58.119 --> 00:59:00.400 like a much bigger match than he's obviously gonna end 1096 00:59:00.480 --> 00:59:03.679 up having on this show, because he had just incredible 1097 00:59:03.719 --> 00:59:06.639 year last year and he's one of the more compelling 1098 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:09.559 characters on the show. He deserves better than this. But 1099 00:59:09.719 --> 00:59:11.920 it looks like he's either going to be wrestling Damian 1100 00:59:11.960 --> 00:59:14.960 Priest or maybe someone like La Knight, because there was 1101 00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:18.880 apparently talk this week internally about them, you know, considering 1102 00:59:18.920 --> 00:59:21.519 maybe we should be doing McIntyre a night and playing 1103 00:59:21.559 --> 00:59:24.000 off the real heat right coming out of the Royal 1104 00:59:24.079 --> 00:59:26.519 Rumble when Drew was all upset with La Knights and 1105 00:59:26.840 --> 00:59:29.079 LA Knight made that little dig in his promo last week. Oh, 1106 00:59:29.119 --> 00:59:31.920 I forgot to get my stuff in, right. I think 1107 00:59:31.920 --> 00:59:35.079 that if you give me the choice, if I could 1108 00:59:35.119 --> 00:59:37.639 book one or the other, it has to be one 1109 00:59:37.719 --> 00:59:40.599 or the other for Drew McIntyre. I personally, I'm going 1110 00:59:40.599 --> 00:59:44.480 with l A. Knight, and I think Damian Priest is great. 1111 00:59:44.559 --> 00:59:47.039 I think he's fine. But I just think the build 1112 00:59:47.119 --> 00:59:49.960 up and the promos and playing off you know, that 1113 00:59:50.079 --> 00:59:53.719 real situation just makes it a more interesting match. It 1114 00:59:53.840 --> 00:59:55.760 just makes it a more interesting build if that's what 1115 00:59:55.800 --> 00:59:58.800 you're gonna do. The history though, is there with Damian 1116 00:59:58.840 --> 01:00:01.000 Priest if you go back to rest media last year, 1117 01:00:01.519 --> 01:00:03.519 Damian Priest cashed in his money in the bank and 1118 01:00:03.639 --> 01:00:07.960 Drew McIntyre and then they had another match, a clash 1119 01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:11.119 at the Castle. But even that was kind of a 1120 01:00:11.159 --> 01:00:13.679 fuck finish because you had seem Punk interfering as the 1121 01:00:13.960 --> 01:00:17.760 guest referee. So we really have not had a decisive 1122 01:00:17.880 --> 01:00:20.760 winner between these two men. And then, of course at 1123 01:00:20.760 --> 01:00:24.719 the Royal Rumble, who eliminated Damien? Who eliminated Drew McIntyre 1124 01:00:24.800 --> 01:00:28.800 rather Damian Priest, everything is set up for Damian Priest 1125 01:00:28.880 --> 01:00:33.639 to be the opponent, Like logically, historically it makes far 1126 01:00:33.679 --> 01:00:36.000 more sense for it to be Damian Priest. I just think, 1127 01:00:36.920 --> 01:00:38.760 you know, in terms of the week to week build up, 1128 01:00:39.039 --> 01:00:42.119 I would find it more entertaining if it was La 1129 01:00:42.239 --> 01:00:44.440 Knight going out there cutting promos and Drew and Drew 1130 01:00:44.480 --> 01:00:48.000 cutting promos on him. He's already doing that on social media. 1131 01:00:48.039 --> 01:00:51.239 He's already he's already lighting him up on social media. 1132 01:00:51.360 --> 01:00:53.320 I'd like to see more of that, to be honest 1133 01:00:53.320 --> 01:00:57.079 with you. So let's say Damian Priest gets that match Okay, 1134 01:00:57.079 --> 01:00:59.719 what do you do with La Knight? He's still over. 1135 01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:02.840 You got to give him something on that show. He 1136 01:01:02.920 --> 01:01:04.800 has made it very clear, as he did this week, 1137 01:01:04.840 --> 01:01:07.400 he wants to get back his United States Championships. So 1138 01:01:07.519 --> 01:01:09.920 do they just rematch him in Shinsky Nakamora and he 1139 01:01:09.960 --> 01:01:14.119 wins the belt back? Like, if you're an La Knight fan, 1140 01:01:15.440 --> 01:01:18.199 I would argue that a match with Drew McIntyre would 1141 01:01:18.199 --> 01:01:20.000 actually be a bigger spot for him on the show 1142 01:01:20.039 --> 01:01:24.719 than just wrestling Knackamora and winning the US title. But 1143 01:01:24.800 --> 01:01:27.440 that maybe what ends up happening. But then there's Jimmy Usso. 1144 01:01:27.519 --> 01:01:30.639 I was thinking about Jimmy. There was a segment on 1145 01:01:30.679 --> 01:01:34.719 SmackDown Friday Night where Drew McIntyre again was mocking Jimmy. 1146 01:01:35.039 --> 01:01:37.440 Right low, look at your brother. Your brother's going to WrestleMania. 1147 01:01:37.519 --> 01:01:40.760 He's challenging for a championship, and like, poor Jimmy, Jimmy's 1148 01:01:40.800 --> 01:01:44.400 got nothing going on. I think maybe they're building to 1149 01:01:44.480 --> 01:01:46.880 Jimmy Usso winning the US title and you could have 1150 01:01:46.960 --> 01:01:50.639 both USO celebrating at the end of WrestleMania one with 1151 01:01:50.719 --> 01:01:53.440 each title, right, Jimmy with the US title, Jay with 1152 01:01:53.480 --> 01:01:56.480 the World title. I think that may be what they're 1153 01:01:56.480 --> 01:02:00.000 going for. So are we looking at another triple threat 1154 01:02:00.159 --> 01:02:02.519 match here? This could easily be a multi man match. 1155 01:02:02.639 --> 01:02:03.920 It could be a three way, it could be a 1156 01:02:03.960 --> 01:02:06.440 four way. Get a bunch of people in there, challenge 1157 01:02:06.440 --> 01:02:09.559 for the US title. That's what this feels like to me. 1158 01:02:10.800 --> 01:02:13.639 All this fantasy booking of WrestleMania and all these potential 1159 01:02:13.679 --> 01:02:17.079 multiman matches and having flashbacks to WrestleMania two thousand, that's 1160 01:02:17.079 --> 01:02:22.280 not a good thing. Bron Breaker, He's the Intercontinental champion. 1161 01:02:22.320 --> 01:02:25.639 They have teased a couple of matches for him, and 1162 01:02:25.679 --> 01:02:28.480 it doesn't have to be WrestleMania, but they've teased something 1163 01:02:28.480 --> 01:02:30.480 with him in Penta right. It was just a one 1164 01:02:30.519 --> 01:02:33.320 off in the back many weeks ago, and they did 1165 01:02:33.320 --> 01:02:36.239 the same thing this week where he confronted aj Styles 1166 01:02:36.280 --> 01:02:39.280 and they stared at each other and Bron told them, 1167 01:02:39.280 --> 01:02:43.920 see year around, is that the Intercontinental title match for WrestleMania. 1168 01:02:44.360 --> 01:02:46.960 I would rather it be Seamus. I've made that very 1169 01:02:46.960 --> 01:02:50.000 clear before. There's a story to be told with Seamus 1170 01:02:50.079 --> 01:02:53.719 finally winning the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania. No one's been 1171 01:02:53.760 --> 01:02:59.039 talking about him for WrestleMania. I'd prefer Shamus, not that 1172 01:02:59.079 --> 01:03:00.719 AJ wouldn't be a great opponent for him, but I 1173 01:03:00.760 --> 01:03:04.000 would still prefer Breaker and Seamus. And you know what, 1174 01:03:04.360 --> 01:03:07.800 Gunther's going to lose that World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. 1175 01:03:08.159 --> 01:03:11.280 I'd like to see Gunther working AJ coming out of 1176 01:03:11.280 --> 01:03:15.559 that show, because they've never worked together before. That would 1177 01:03:15.559 --> 01:03:18.199 be a great program Gunther and AJ styles. That could 1178 01:03:18.239 --> 01:03:22.039 be what Gunther does coming out of Mania. Then you 1179 01:03:22.159 --> 01:03:26.400 have the bloodline, right Timu Bloodline, Jacob Fa Tu, Tomataga, 1180 01:03:26.480 --> 01:03:30.360 Solo so CoA. You see that there is a drama 1181 01:03:30.400 --> 01:03:33.639 from within the bloodline after what happened on SmackDown Friday Night. 1182 01:03:35.039 --> 01:03:37.840 We're gonna get Solo Socoa against Jacob Fa tw at 1183 01:03:37.880 --> 01:03:41.519 some point, probably WrestleMania. I think that's the WrestleMania match 1184 01:03:41.559 --> 01:03:45.199 for those guys. You've got Penta. You've got to get 1185 01:03:45.199 --> 01:03:48.719 Penta on the WrestleMania card. They shot an angle at 1186 01:03:48.719 --> 01:03:51.440 the end of Raw Monday Night after Raymisterio lost his 1187 01:03:51.840 --> 01:03:55.800 Chamber qualifier to Logan Paul, where the New Day ran 1188 01:03:55.880 --> 01:03:57.800 out to attack him and they went off the air 1189 01:03:57.840 --> 01:04:00.760 two seconds later. We got to see none of it. Now, 1190 01:04:00.840 --> 01:04:03.559 there was a video that was uploaded, I guess to 1191 01:04:03.880 --> 01:04:07.960 YouTube after the fact of the attack on Ray. They 1192 01:04:07.960 --> 01:04:11.000 went after his knee. They took a chair to the knee. 1193 01:04:11.519 --> 01:04:13.239 It felt like an angle to write him off for 1194 01:04:13.280 --> 01:04:18.119 a while. And what I'm thinking here is that and 1195 01:04:18.159 --> 01:04:20.039 I talked about this on Monday in my raw review, 1196 01:04:20.039 --> 01:04:22.000 and I see the vision here. I don't know if 1197 01:04:22.039 --> 01:04:24.360 this is Triple H's vision, but this is my vision 1198 01:04:24.400 --> 01:04:27.559 of where this is headed. You have the New Day. 1199 01:04:27.559 --> 01:04:29.880 They're gonna have to take out each member of the LWO. 1200 01:04:31.039 --> 01:04:33.679 You know, Dragon Lee came out after the show Monday 1201 01:04:33.760 --> 01:04:35.960 night to try to rescue Ray, and he got beat 1202 01:04:36.039 --> 01:04:39.199 down too. But you got Dragon Lee, You've got Cruise 1203 01:04:39.239 --> 01:04:42.400 Del Toro, You've got Jokin Wilde. They're gonna have to 1204 01:04:42.440 --> 01:04:45.760 take each member out because if Ray comes back and 1205 01:04:45.800 --> 01:04:48.000 he needs a partner to go after the New Day, 1206 01:04:48.079 --> 01:04:50.760 He's got three guys right there, right, You've got to 1207 01:04:50.800 --> 01:04:52.000 come up with a way to get them out of 1208 01:04:52.000 --> 01:04:54.719 the picture. And it looks like Ray has nobody right. 1209 01:04:54.800 --> 01:04:57.000 The New Day has gotten rid of every member of 1210 01:04:57.039 --> 01:05:01.960 the LWO. Ray finally comes back sometime in March, whenever 1211 01:05:02.000 --> 01:05:06.000 it is he returns, and it's two on one, he's 1212 01:05:06.039 --> 01:05:08.480 got nobody to help him, and that's when Penta comes 1213 01:05:08.519 --> 01:05:12.159 to the aid of Raymistereo and we get Ray and 1214 01:05:12.239 --> 01:05:18.039 Penta again. To the new day at Wrestlemdia. You look 1215 01:05:18.079 --> 01:05:21.039 at the SmackDown tag team title situation, I think we're 1216 01:05:21.039 --> 01:05:23.719 headed for a multi team match, probably a ladder match, 1217 01:05:24.519 --> 01:05:27.360 which is kind of you know, that'd be kind of lazy, honestly, 1218 01:05:27.880 --> 01:05:29.840 because that's what they did last year when they merged 1219 01:05:29.880 --> 01:05:32.880 the titles. But I think that's where we're headed something 1220 01:05:32.920 --> 01:05:37.320 with the Street Profits and pretty Deadly and Los Garza 1221 01:05:37.400 --> 01:05:41.159 and Diy, they're all gonna lump them into one match together. 1222 01:05:43.239 --> 01:05:47.000 So then the question is what about Bianca, What about Jade? 1223 01:05:47.039 --> 01:05:50.880 What about Naomi? Right, we had a segment on SmackDown 1224 01:05:50.880 --> 01:05:54.960 where Nick Aldo he received some anonymous cell phone video 1225 01:05:55.039 --> 01:05:58.239 and he showed them and it showed when Jade was 1226 01:05:58.280 --> 01:06:00.639 attacked and they were loading her into the ambulance in 1227 01:06:00.679 --> 01:06:04.199 the parking lot. We see Live Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez 1228 01:06:04.239 --> 01:06:07.760 on the side like scurrying away, and of course the 1229 01:06:07.800 --> 01:06:10.360 dumb babyfaces just take that to me, Well, they must 1230 01:06:10.400 --> 01:06:12.599 have done it. We know who the culprit is. Boy 1231 01:06:12.639 --> 01:06:15.559 Naomi looked awfully nervous when all this was about to 1232 01:06:15.599 --> 01:06:19.400 show that video, So it's a misdirect. It's not gonna 1233 01:06:19.440 --> 01:06:22.320 end up being Live Morgan in Raquel as the perpetrators. 1234 01:06:22.519 --> 01:06:24.480 I still say it's gonna be Naomi. It could be 1235 01:06:24.559 --> 01:06:27.519 Naomi and Bianca. I don't see them turning Biyanca heel. 1236 01:06:28.239 --> 01:06:30.079 I think it's gonna be Naomi. I don't know when 1237 01:06:30.079 --> 01:06:32.400 we're gonna get the ultimate reveal. I don't know when 1238 01:06:32.480 --> 01:06:34.519 Jade is going to be back on TV. I would 1239 01:06:34.519 --> 01:06:37.079 assume it would be in time for a WrestleMania match, 1240 01:06:38.000 --> 01:06:40.639 But what's that match? You know what I mean? 1241 01:06:40.679 --> 01:06:40.760 Like? 1242 01:06:40.880 --> 01:06:44.440 Is it Jade against Naomi? What the hell does Bianca do? Right? 1243 01:06:44.559 --> 01:06:46.239 Who's Bianca going to be in the ring with? Are 1244 01:06:46.239 --> 01:06:48.840 they still gonna be Women's tag team champions come WRESTLEMANI 1245 01:06:50.079 --> 01:06:52.719 maybe they're defending and losing the women's tag team titles 1246 01:06:52.760 --> 01:06:55.039 on that show. That's what I'm not sure of. I'm 1247 01:06:55.039 --> 01:06:58.119 not sure what the match for Mania is going to 1248 01:06:58.159 --> 01:07:01.519 look like. The women's mid titles, they haven't been booked 1249 01:07:01.559 --> 01:07:03.480 for shit so far. I don't even know that they're 1250 01:07:03.480 --> 01:07:07.400 going to be defended on WRESTLEMANI and then the last 1251 01:07:07.440 --> 01:07:09.599 thing is we have not heard one name mentioned for 1252 01:07:09.639 --> 01:07:14.840 this show, and that name is Guldberg. We have not 1253 01:07:14.920 --> 01:07:18.159 heard about Goldberg for WrestleMania, even though he did say 1254 01:07:18.199 --> 01:07:20.079 he's going to be having his retirement match in twenty 1255 01:07:20.119 --> 01:07:23.280 twenty five and teasing at the time that it would 1256 01:07:23.320 --> 01:07:26.119 be against Gunther, although they never actually said who it 1257 01:07:26.119 --> 01:07:30.239 would be against, so they haven't mentioned Goldberg. Goldberg has 1258 01:07:30.280 --> 01:07:32.719 not appeared. I don't know that the match is happening 1259 01:07:32.800 --> 01:07:34.719 at WrestleMania. Maybe it's going to happen on one of 1260 01:07:34.719 --> 01:07:37.559 the Saudi shows. But that's just something to keep in 1261 01:07:37.599 --> 01:07:39.079 mind because I think a lot of people assume that 1262 01:07:39.079 --> 01:07:40.679 if he was going to be retiring, it would be 1263 01:07:40.679 --> 01:07:44.079 on a big show like WrestleMania. It still could happen, 1264 01:07:44.159 --> 01:07:45.920 but we have not heard his name mentioned at all. 1265 01:07:46.599 --> 01:07:49.159 So when I look at this potential WrestleMania card, I 1266 01:07:49.159 --> 01:07:52.599 could see where people would be underwhelmed. I do think 1267 01:07:52.639 --> 01:07:55.559 that what they did last year has a lot to 1268 01:07:55.599 --> 01:07:58.119 do with why this year feels less than But again, 1269 01:07:58.159 --> 01:08:01.039 we have two matches confirmed. I don't know where half 1270 01:08:01.079 --> 01:08:02.719 the card is going to end up. There's so many 1271 01:08:02.719 --> 01:08:05.360 different potential paths to take with some of these people. 1272 01:08:05.800 --> 01:08:07.840 It'll be interesting to follow in the next i'd say 1273 01:08:07.840 --> 01:08:10.039 two or three weeks when they start locking shit in 1274 01:08:10.800 --> 01:08:12.400 what the wrestle may be you card this year is 1275 01:08:12.440 --> 01:08:16.600 actually going to look like today's episode is sponsored by Factor. 1276 01:08:17.079 --> 01:08:19.279 If you've been looking for a way to eat healthier, 1277 01:08:19.319 --> 01:08:21.640 but maybe you don't know where to start, or you 1278 01:08:21.680 --> 01:08:23.960 work yourself to death during the day, so much so 1279 01:08:24.039 --> 01:08:25.800 that by the time you get home you just don't 1280 01:08:25.800 --> 01:08:29.000 have time to make yourself something, or maybe frankly, you're 1281 01:08:29.039 --> 01:08:31.399 just not a very good cook. I feel like I 1282 01:08:31.520 --> 01:08:35.239 check a lot of these boxes. Look no further Factor 1283 01:08:35.439 --> 01:08:37.720 is the meal delivery service that you've been waiting for. 1284 01:08:38.359 --> 01:08:41.720 Factor offers chef made gourmet meals that make eating well 1285 01:08:41.800 --> 01:08:44.800 a hell of a lot easier, their dietitian approved and 1286 01:08:44.920 --> 01:08:47.520 ready to heat and eat in just two minutes, so 1287 01:08:47.560 --> 01:08:50.039 you can get the sustenance that you need and actually 1288 01:08:50.119 --> 01:08:52.399 enjoy it no matter what life may throw at you. 1289 01:08:53.079 --> 01:08:56.840 Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any lifestyle, 1290 01:08:56.920 --> 01:08:59.640 no matter how hectic. You can lose up to eight 1291 01:08:59.720 --> 01:09:03.640 pounds in eight weeks with Factor Keto meals based on 1292 01:09:03.680 --> 01:09:08.079 a randomized controlled clinical trial with Factor Keto. Results will vary, 1293 01:09:08.159 --> 01:09:12.079 of course, depending on diet and exercise. With forty options 1294 01:09:12.079 --> 01:09:15.680 across eight dietary preferences on the menu each week, it's 1295 01:09:15.720 --> 01:09:18.319 super easy to pick meals that are tailored to your goals. 1296 01:09:18.840 --> 01:09:22.720 Choose from preferences like Calorie Smart, Protein Plus or Keto. 1297 01:09:23.560 --> 01:09:26.000 Factor can help you feel your best all day long 1298 01:09:26.079 --> 01:09:29.840 with smoothies, breakfasts, grab and gohot snacks and more. Add ons. 1299 01:09:30.199 --> 01:09:32.520 Reach your goals this year with ingredients that you can 1300 01:09:32.560 --> 01:09:35.920 trust and convenience that can't be beat. Just last week, 1301 01:09:35.960 --> 01:09:38.880 I had the chance to try their Thai roasted vegetable 1302 01:09:38.880 --> 01:09:43.720 green curry meal with coconut lime rice and it tasted great. 1303 01:09:44.439 --> 01:09:46.479 I didn't know what to expect because it's not anything 1304 01:09:46.520 --> 01:09:49.359 that I've tried before, but it was very filling too. 1305 01:09:49.520 --> 01:09:51.880 I wasn't still hungry when I was done, and it 1306 01:09:51.920 --> 01:09:53.720 was easy to make. I just popped it into the 1307 01:09:53.720 --> 01:09:55.960 microwave a couple of different times. The whole thing from 1308 01:09:56.000 --> 01:09:59.199 start to finish after I let it cool was five 1309 01:09:59.279 --> 01:10:02.640 minutes and dinner was served. For me, it's not a 1310 01:10:02.680 --> 01:10:07.199 matter of losing weight or trying to add specific macronutrients 1311 01:10:07.239 --> 01:10:09.239 to my diet or anything like that. It might be 1312 01:10:09.319 --> 01:10:11.720 for you, but for me, it's just about trying to 1313 01:10:11.720 --> 01:10:14.359 find some new meal options that look really interesting. But 1314 01:10:14.640 --> 01:10:17.359 I could keet and eat in a matter of minutes. 1315 01:10:17.880 --> 01:10:20.880 It's the convenience of it. And this did the trick 1316 01:10:20.920 --> 01:10:23.680 for me. And I'll tell you something. There's a sweet 1317 01:10:23.720 --> 01:10:26.479 ginger tofu with jasmine rice just waiting for me in 1318 01:10:26.520 --> 01:10:29.279 the fridge for lunch tomorrow that I'm very much looking 1319 01:10:29.319 --> 01:10:32.520 forward to trying. And you have no excuse not to 1320 01:10:32.520 --> 01:10:35.159 give it a shot yourself because Factor is offering a 1321 01:10:35.199 --> 01:10:39.920 special discount for sound off listeners. Eat smart with Factor. 1322 01:10:40.319 --> 01:10:44.600 Get started at Factor meals dot com slash Solemn Monster 1323 01:10:44.840 --> 01:10:49.039 fifty off and use the code Solemn Monster fifty off 1324 01:10:49.119 --> 01:10:52.359 to get fifty percent off your first box plus free shipping. 1325 01:10:52.840 --> 01:10:57.000 That's code Solemn Monster fifty off at Factor meals dot 1326 01:10:57.000 --> 01:11:01.199 com slash sole Monster fifty off. Get fifty percent off 1327 01:11:01.239 --> 01:11:05.560 plus free shipping on your first box. Other news and 1328 01:11:05.640 --> 01:11:09.279 notes before I get to aw both wrestle Votes and 1329 01:11:09.319 --> 01:11:13.119 Fightful reported on Thursday that New Orleans, Louisiana is the 1330 01:11:13.239 --> 01:11:16.399 likely spot for WrestleMania next year, with wrestle votes, adding 1331 01:11:16.399 --> 01:11:18.960 that the announcement will come before WrestleMania forty one in 1332 01:11:19.039 --> 01:11:22.520 Las Vegas. Fightful noted that New Orleans had been the 1333 01:11:22.520 --> 01:11:25.840 plan for years and that some WWE partners were made 1334 01:11:25.880 --> 01:11:29.560 aware of the location as well. If it happens, this 1335 01:11:29.640 --> 01:11:32.560 would be the third time that New Orleans gets WrestleMania, 1336 01:11:32.600 --> 01:11:36.600 the last two times being twenty fourteen and twenty eighteen. 1337 01:11:36.720 --> 01:11:39.439 And I swore that if they went back, I would 1338 01:11:39.439 --> 01:11:42.319 be there, so it would be my third trip there too. 1339 01:11:43.199 --> 01:11:46.359 They just hosted the Super Bowl last weekend before a 1340 01:11:46.560 --> 01:11:49.920 crowd of sixty five thousand, but believe that's what they claimed, 1341 01:11:50.640 --> 01:11:52.920 So of course WWE would have to announce a number 1342 01:11:52.960 --> 01:11:55.520 higher than that for each night, even if it isn't true. 1343 01:11:55.760 --> 01:11:59.239 That's just how the game is played. We have our 1344 01:11:59.399 --> 01:12:03.000 second name confirmed for the WWE Hall of Fame class 1345 01:12:03.000 --> 01:12:07.319 of twenty twenty five, joining Triple H, will be Michelle McCool. 1346 01:12:08.439 --> 01:12:12.199 During it appearance Friday morning on ESPN's Get Up, McCool 1347 01:12:12.279 --> 01:12:15.279 was surprised with the news by Triple H, who was 1348 01:12:15.319 --> 01:12:19.159 not there with her but appeared on screen while she 1349 01:12:19.239 --> 01:12:22.680 and the Undertaker were in studio, and Triple H said 1350 01:12:22.680 --> 01:12:25.520 that since the Undertaker and Sean Michaels they surprised him 1351 01:12:25.560 --> 01:12:27.600 about his induction into the Hall of Fame, this was 1352 01:12:27.640 --> 01:12:31.439 his way of basically getting him back, which made it 1353 01:12:31.520 --> 01:12:33.239 sound like she was only going into the Hall of 1354 01:12:33.279 --> 01:12:36.319 Fame this year because he wanted He wanted to get 1355 01:12:36.319 --> 01:12:40.880 the Undertaker back, but she got very emotional and even 1356 01:12:40.880 --> 01:12:45.640 the Undertaker started wiping away tears. K Fabe is deater 1357 01:12:45.760 --> 01:12:48.920 than he used to be, So that would make them 1358 01:12:48.920 --> 01:12:51.800 the third husband and wife couple to be inducted into 1359 01:12:51.840 --> 01:12:53.920 the Hall of Fame. I know Edge and Beth Phoenix 1360 01:12:53.960 --> 01:12:57.319 are both in, and Booker t and Charmel are in, 1361 01:12:58.439 --> 01:13:01.199 and I think that's it. Taker and Michelle would be 1362 01:13:01.359 --> 01:13:05.520 the third. I really thought that somebody like Mickey James 1363 01:13:05.640 --> 01:13:08.760 or Victoria would go in this year, especially with Mickey 1364 01:13:08.760 --> 01:13:11.920 being a part of that LFG show which premieres tonight 1365 01:13:12.039 --> 01:13:14.720 on A and E. But I guess Michelle is on 1366 01:13:14.760 --> 01:13:18.479 there too. She's in at least one of the episodes. Look, 1367 01:13:18.479 --> 01:13:20.439 it's not like she wasn't going in at some point. 1368 01:13:21.000 --> 01:13:24.520 Four time Women's Champion part of the first ever women's 1369 01:13:24.560 --> 01:13:28.399 table match as part of Lay Cool against Beth Phoenix 1370 01:13:28.439 --> 01:13:32.439 and Italia. She really was more associated with her run 1371 01:13:32.640 --> 01:13:36.000 as one half of Lake Cool with Leila l than 1372 01:13:36.239 --> 01:13:39.039 her singles run, which is what makes me laugh, because 1373 01:13:39.039 --> 01:13:42.159 she just did an interview with Chris van Vliet and 1374 01:13:42.399 --> 01:13:46.760 like it literally just dropped this week and the video 1375 01:13:46.840 --> 01:13:50.199 version went up on YouTube on Thursday, and Chris asked 1376 01:13:50.199 --> 01:13:52.159 her about the possibility of going into the Hall of 1377 01:13:52.239 --> 01:13:55.039 Fame one day, and she said, of course it would 1378 01:13:55.039 --> 01:13:57.600 be an honor, but lay Cool is what put her 1379 01:13:57.640 --> 01:13:59.840 on the map, and she had hoped that when she 1380 01:13:59.840 --> 01:14:02.960 got or if she ever goes in, she wanted to 1381 01:14:03.000 --> 01:14:06.720 be together with Layla, And then like forty eight hours later, 1382 01:14:06.760 --> 01:14:11.319 she's announced as a solo inductee for the Hall of Fame. Like, oh, well, 1383 01:14:12.760 --> 01:14:15.640 she's not wrong, though, if she was going in, they 1384 01:14:15.680 --> 01:14:17.760 really should have put her in with Laila. They should 1385 01:14:17.760 --> 01:14:21.000 have gone in together. Layla hasn't done anything with the 1386 01:14:21.000 --> 01:14:24.319 company in years since she left. She's kept a very 1387 01:14:24.319 --> 01:14:28.399 low profile. The thing with Michelle McCool, you know, and 1388 01:14:28.439 --> 01:14:30.159 I always have fun with like when we land on 1389 01:14:30.199 --> 01:14:31.960 her and be the booker on the streams and stuff. 1390 01:14:32.000 --> 01:14:34.720 Sometimes I'll hit the buzzer and it's not because of her. 1391 01:14:35.079 --> 01:14:37.199 It's not like I land on Rosa Mendez or something. 1392 01:14:37.239 --> 01:14:40.680 But the thing with Michelle McCool is that she was 1393 01:14:40.840 --> 01:14:44.880 very athletic like growing up and it showed in her matches, 1394 01:14:44.960 --> 01:14:47.279 like some of the moves that she would do. She 1395 01:14:47.399 --> 01:14:50.399 played softball and volleyball when she was younger, She did 1396 01:14:50.439 --> 01:14:53.880 fitness contests, she taught kickboxing, so, like you know, she 1397 01:14:53.960 --> 01:14:57.399 was very athletic and very active. Today they have tons 1398 01:14:57.399 --> 01:14:59.960 of women who come from athletic backgrounds right their recruit 1399 01:15:00.039 --> 01:15:03.600 being nil athletes and all of this stuff. She came 1400 01:15:03.640 --> 01:15:07.680 to WWE I think ten years too soon because when 1401 01:15:07.720 --> 01:15:10.399 she was there, it wasn't about how good of a 1402 01:15:10.439 --> 01:15:12.840 wrestler you were. It wasn't about how athletic you were. 1403 01:15:13.680 --> 01:15:16.720 It was about how hot you were. Right, there were 1404 01:15:16.720 --> 01:15:19.279 a lot of blonds like her running around. You know, 1405 01:15:19.640 --> 01:15:22.880 Vince had a type. That's what it was about. It 1406 01:15:22.920 --> 01:15:25.079 was about that, and it was about what dumb storyline 1407 01:15:25.159 --> 01:15:27.039 Vince McMahon could come up with where he can make 1408 01:15:27.039 --> 01:15:30.960 out with you on TV. I can't think of many 1409 01:15:30.960 --> 01:15:33.920 matches outside of that Tables match, you know in lay 1410 01:15:33.920 --> 01:15:36.079 Cool that she had that really stand out to me. 1411 01:15:36.119 --> 01:15:38.560 It doesn't mean that she was a bad wrestler. Right, 1412 01:15:38.640 --> 01:15:41.680 she wasn't. There just wasn't a whole lot that stands 1413 01:15:41.720 --> 01:15:46.800 out for me from that Diva's era. I actually liked 1414 01:15:46.840 --> 01:15:48.920 the finish of that tables match, by the way, because 1415 01:15:49.279 --> 01:15:51.760 if you remember it, and I won't fault you if 1416 01:15:51.800 --> 01:15:55.039 you don't. But Michelle and Layla they get shoved the 1417 01:15:55.279 --> 01:15:57.319 like on the ropes and they get shoved backwards by 1418 01:15:57.399 --> 01:16:00.560 Natty and they land on this table and the table 1419 01:16:00.640 --> 01:16:04.399 it doesn't fully break, It just sort of SAgs like 1420 01:16:04.439 --> 01:16:08.640 it bends a little bit. And because of course they 1421 01:16:08.640 --> 01:16:11.560 don't weigh enough to break the table, and the crowd 1422 01:16:11.560 --> 01:16:14.479 could have shit all over it. You know, you fucked 1423 01:16:14.560 --> 01:16:17.079 up or whatever. But I remember the crowd. They started 1424 01:16:17.079 --> 01:16:20.319 going crazy and they're yelling for Natty like to jump off, 1425 01:16:20.479 --> 01:16:24.039 just like dive off, And finally she dives off the 1426 01:16:24.079 --> 01:16:26.720 top rope with a splash and she puts them through 1427 01:16:26.720 --> 01:16:31.479 the table and it got a great reaction. I know, 1428 01:16:31.560 --> 01:16:36.079 lay Cool they did that terrible Piggy James angle. And 1429 01:16:36.479 --> 01:16:38.600 you know there was a Royal Rumble match with Michelle 1430 01:16:38.680 --> 01:16:42.680 McCool and Mickey James that went like twenty seconds. It's 1431 01:16:42.720 --> 01:16:45.960 like the women's matches back then, they were routinely put 1432 01:16:46.000 --> 01:16:48.520 in the depth spot on pay per views, like if 1433 01:16:48.520 --> 01:16:51.479 you wanted a piss break, Oh, they got the women's match, 1434 01:16:51.520 --> 01:16:53.479 it's time to go to the bathroom, Like that's that's 1435 01:16:53.520 --> 01:16:56.039 what they were put there for, right before the main 1436 01:16:56.079 --> 01:17:00.159 event every show, and if the matches on TV, he 1437 01:17:00.279 --> 01:17:03.680 got more than two minutes. It was a miracle. And 1438 01:17:03.720 --> 01:17:06.920 given their experience level, for some of the divas, maybe 1439 01:17:06.920 --> 01:17:09.079 that was for the better, but for the ones who 1440 01:17:09.079 --> 01:17:12.159 could actually work, I'm sure it was frustrating as fuck. 1441 01:17:13.199 --> 01:17:15.800 And she told some stories on Undertaker's podcast. She was 1442 01:17:15.800 --> 01:17:18.840 on his show last year and she told one story. 1443 01:17:19.159 --> 01:17:22.079 She had a match with Molina and it was a 1444 01:17:22.479 --> 01:17:25.840 Night of Champions match and they got in trouble for 1445 01:17:25.920 --> 01:17:29.560 doing a DDT spot on top of the barricade, which 1446 01:17:29.600 --> 01:17:31.520 was a no no for the women back then, like, oh, 1447 01:17:31.560 --> 01:17:35.279 you can't do that. You can't outshine the boys, right, 1448 01:17:35.319 --> 01:17:36.960 the women are not supposed to be doing that sort 1449 01:17:36.960 --> 01:17:38.319 of thing. So they got heat for that when they 1450 01:17:38.319 --> 01:17:40.880 got to the back. And then there was a match 1451 01:17:40.920 --> 01:17:42.960 with her and Victoria where they got to the back 1452 01:17:43.760 --> 01:17:46.880 and they're changing out of their gear and somebody comes 1453 01:17:46.880 --> 01:17:48.720 in and tells them you need to go back out 1454 01:17:48.720 --> 01:17:53.079 and redo your match, and they're like, what why, And 1455 01:17:53.239 --> 01:17:57.399 this person says, well, your punches look too good, right, 1456 01:17:57.399 --> 01:17:59.600 because you can't have the women out there throwing better 1457 01:17:59.640 --> 01:18:02.600 punches in the guys. And she said, even, you know, 1458 01:18:02.680 --> 01:18:05.760 Chris Jericho heard what was going on and stood up 1459 01:18:05.760 --> 01:18:08.680 for her and said, well, if they're punching better than 1460 01:18:08.680 --> 01:18:11.039 the guys, then you know what that's on. The guys 1461 01:18:11.079 --> 01:18:14.800 throw better punches, which is one hundred percent right. So 1462 01:18:14.800 --> 01:18:16.560 they had to go out and redo the entire match 1463 01:18:16.600 --> 01:18:18.600 all over again, which I'm sure confused the hell out 1464 01:18:18.600 --> 01:18:21.680 of the crowd. But she said from that point on, 1465 01:18:21.760 --> 01:18:24.279 they instituted a no punching and no kicking rule for 1466 01:18:24.319 --> 01:18:27.439 the women's matches. Right, So that's what she claims anyway, 1467 01:18:28.199 --> 01:18:30.479 But that's the kind of bullshit that the divas were 1468 01:18:30.560 --> 01:18:33.279 up against back then. Right then came the era of 1469 01:18:33.319 --> 01:18:36.319 the Belas and the thirty second matches where they were 1470 01:18:36.319 --> 01:18:38.800 getting their time cut right before they walked out to 1471 01:18:38.840 --> 01:18:41.520 go to the ring, and then came the you know, 1472 01:18:41.520 --> 01:18:43.800 give divas a chance hashtag and we all know what 1473 01:18:43.880 --> 01:18:46.680 happened after that. That's why I say like she's one 1474 01:18:46.760 --> 01:18:49.279 of those women who came along ten years too early, 1475 01:18:51.520 --> 01:18:53.439 so maybe they can have Leyla be the one to 1476 01:18:53.479 --> 01:18:56.359 induct her. But that's the second Hall of Fame name 1477 01:18:56.399 --> 01:19:00.359 for this year's class. And we took one giant step 1478 01:19:00.399 --> 01:19:03.760 this week towards another Hall of Fame induction that is 1479 01:19:03.920 --> 01:19:08.800 long overdue, because this week we learned that WWE has 1480 01:19:08.800 --> 01:19:15.039 signed Bill Edy and Barry Darso Demolition to WWE Legends contracts. 1481 01:19:15.239 --> 01:19:18.520 They are back in the fold, which means new action 1482 01:19:18.680 --> 01:19:22.199 figures and video games if they weren't already in the 1483 01:19:22.239 --> 01:19:25.239 video game and they could take their rightful place in 1484 01:19:25.279 --> 01:19:28.920 the Hall of Fame right They each had very accomplished 1485 01:19:29.039 --> 01:19:32.199 careers outside of Demolition. You know. Bill Ady was the 1486 01:19:32.199 --> 01:19:35.319 Mass Superstar and I think had a couple of other gimmicks. 1487 01:19:35.359 --> 01:19:39.680 Barry Darso was Crusher Khrushchev and the NWA and then 1488 01:19:39.760 --> 01:19:42.680 Repo Man many years later. I guess accomplished is not 1489 01:19:42.720 --> 01:19:45.159 a word I would use to describe Repo Man. I 1490 01:19:45.159 --> 01:19:47.600 gotta tell you, though, I still get a kick out 1491 01:19:47.640 --> 01:19:51.000 of those old Repoman vignettes. Yeah, they've been putting out 1492 01:19:51.000 --> 01:19:54.520 coliseum videos on the Vault YouTube channel. They had one 1493 01:19:54.840 --> 01:19:57.239 I just watched it last week, and in it they 1494 01:19:57.279 --> 01:20:02.239 had a bunch of repo men vignettes where I don't 1495 01:20:02.279 --> 01:20:04.000 know what, I don't know where he was, but like 1496 01:20:04.399 --> 01:20:06.520 he ran into like a regular person on the street 1497 01:20:06.560 --> 01:20:09.199 who was filming something with his camera, and he's like 1498 01:20:09.800 --> 01:20:11.680 he was gonna steal the camera. He goes, I won't 1499 01:20:11.680 --> 01:20:13.920 steal the camera. I won't repoe the camera from you 1500 01:20:13.960 --> 01:20:16.720 if you just come with me and film me. And 1501 01:20:16.760 --> 01:20:21.079 the guy follows him around and he's like repossessing various things. 1502 01:20:21.600 --> 01:20:23.880 So like he just goes around and like he steals 1503 01:20:23.880 --> 01:20:26.359 a little girl's bike, and then he breaks into someone's 1504 01:20:26.399 --> 01:20:29.199 garage and says they missed their their last payment. They 1505 01:20:29.199 --> 01:20:32.560 were a day late on their last their last payment. 1506 01:20:33.279 --> 01:20:35.279 He goes, you know, you know what I always say, 1507 01:20:35.479 --> 01:20:37.880 you know what, what's mine is mine, and what's yours 1508 01:20:37.960 --> 01:20:41.560 is mine too, and that fucking cackle. How can you 1509 01:20:41.640 --> 01:20:46.479 not be entertained by that? It was a ridiculous gimmick, 1510 01:20:46.800 --> 01:20:48.479 But like he tried to make the most of it, 1511 01:20:48.880 --> 01:20:53.479 you know, Smash Acts left and so he had nothing 1512 01:20:53.479 --> 01:20:55.760 to do. He needed a job, and so that's what 1513 01:20:55.800 --> 01:20:59.720 they had him doing. But uh oh, and don't forget 1514 01:20:59.720 --> 01:21:03.800 whole one. Darso holand won Darso at the golf gimmick 1515 01:21:04.039 --> 01:21:07.520 in WCW. But forget all that shit. When I was 1516 01:21:07.560 --> 01:21:10.600 a kid, Demolition was the shit. Now if you watch 1517 01:21:10.640 --> 01:21:13.239 the NWA, if you grew up on that, you have 1518 01:21:13.319 --> 01:21:15.880 the Road Warriors. Okay, I knew of the Road Warriors, 1519 01:21:16.119 --> 01:21:18.199 but I didn't really gru u watching the Road Warriors. 1520 01:21:18.880 --> 01:21:21.000 I read about them in the magazines and stuff. But 1521 01:21:21.840 --> 01:21:24.560 if I were like me, I was watching the WWF, 1522 01:21:24.880 --> 01:21:28.880 it was Demolition. Demolition and the Heart Foundation. Those are 1523 01:21:28.960 --> 01:21:33.000 my two favorite tag teams. Three time tag team champions. 1524 01:21:33.720 --> 01:21:37.159 Their first run as champions lasted four hundred and seventy 1525 01:21:37.159 --> 01:21:39.600 eight days, which was a record that stood until the 1526 01:21:39.600 --> 01:21:43.439 New Day beat it in twenty sixteen. That record stood 1527 01:21:43.920 --> 01:21:49.520 for twenty seven years. And as he was blackballed from 1528 01:21:49.560 --> 01:21:51.880 the company after he sued them years ago over the 1529 01:21:51.920 --> 01:21:54.960 rights to the Demolition name and the two of them 1530 01:21:55.000 --> 01:21:57.640 they signed on to that big concussion lawsuit, the CTE 1531 01:21:57.800 --> 01:22:01.840 lawsuit that ended up getting dismissed but billy ed. He 1532 01:22:01.960 --> 01:22:05.439 is seventy seven years old now, Barry Darco is sixty five. 1533 01:22:05.880 --> 01:22:09.840 It's time before it's too late, It's time it's time 1534 01:22:09.880 --> 01:22:13.319 to hear that theme music one more time. I figured 1535 01:22:13.359 --> 01:22:15.920 their chances of going in were pretty good after Darso 1536 01:22:16.000 --> 01:22:17.960 did that interview a few months ago where he said 1537 01:22:17.960 --> 01:22:20.119 they were invited to attend the Hall of Fame as 1538 01:22:20.199 --> 01:22:23.960 guests last year in Philadelphia, but they had to turn 1539 01:22:24.000 --> 01:22:27.119 it down because they had a prior commitment. So if 1540 01:22:27.119 --> 01:22:30.159 they were invited to attend, even if it was only 1541 01:22:30.239 --> 01:22:33.279 as guests, then that meant that the ice had thawed, 1542 01:22:34.279 --> 01:22:36.159 And you know, with Vince McMahon being gone, it was 1543 01:22:36.199 --> 01:22:39.720 only a matter of time. This is the next logical 1544 01:22:39.760 --> 01:22:41.960 step towards an induction, and I hope they do it 1545 01:22:41.960 --> 01:22:44.560 this year. They were part of my predictions for this 1546 01:22:44.640 --> 01:22:46.720 year's Hall of Fame class when I made them last year, 1547 01:22:46.760 --> 01:22:49.880 Remember said John Cena, Right, So I was wrong on 1548 01:22:49.920 --> 01:22:54.399 that Mickey James, which is not happening. But I think 1549 01:22:54.399 --> 01:22:56.560 the other ones have a shot. I had Demolition, I 1550 01:22:56.560 --> 01:23:01.039 had Sid Vicious, and I had Haku, and I still 1551 01:23:01.079 --> 01:23:05.399 think they have a pretty good shot. And Hulk Hogan, 1552 01:23:06.039 --> 01:23:09.560 speaking of Hall of Famers, has been sued. Is your 1553 01:23:09.600 --> 01:23:12.479 weekly hul Cogan update here Hulk Hogan has been sued. 1554 01:23:13.359 --> 01:23:16.880 Him and his real American beer company by a woman 1555 01:23:17.520 --> 01:23:20.279 claiming that she was injured at an event last summer 1556 01:23:20.279 --> 01:23:24.439 that required ten stitches in her head. This is the 1557 01:23:24.479 --> 01:23:29.520 story from the Fox affiliate in Akron, Ohio. An Akron 1558 01:23:29.560 --> 01:23:33.039 woman is suing WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and 1559 01:23:33.119 --> 01:23:38.399 his Real American Beer Company. The Akron resident, Michelle har Lukowitz, 1560 01:23:39.000 --> 01:23:41.520 alleges in a complaint that Hogan or one of his 1561 01:23:41.600 --> 01:23:44.520 fellow promoters at a Real American Beer event in Medina, 1562 01:23:44.600 --> 01:23:48.079 Ohio last August, threw a can of beer into the 1563 01:23:48.119 --> 01:23:51.479 crowd that struck Harlukawitz and caused an open wound on 1564 01:23:51.560 --> 01:23:55.239 her head that require ten stitches to close and will 1565 01:23:55.239 --> 01:24:00.600 cause permanent scarring. The alleged incident happened on Augus nineteen, 1566 01:24:00.640 --> 01:24:05.199 twenty twenty four, at the Thirsty Cowboys Bar. R Lukawitz 1567 01:24:05.199 --> 01:24:08.520 says that Hogan and event organizers were throwing cans of 1568 01:24:08.560 --> 01:24:11.079 beer into the audience when one struck her from a 1569 01:24:11.119 --> 01:24:14.560 distance of about fifty feet. Police were called to the 1570 01:24:14.560 --> 01:24:17.199 scene at the time, but refused to file charges as 1571 01:24:17.199 --> 01:24:19.720 they could not determine with certainty who threw the beer can. 1572 01:24:20.439 --> 01:24:23.199 The bar and the bar owner are also being sued 1573 01:24:23.279 --> 01:24:27.000 along with Hogan and Real American Beer. R Lukawitz seeks 1574 01:24:27.039 --> 01:24:32.800 financial compensation from Hogan, Real American Beer, Thirsty Cowboys, and 1575 01:24:32.840 --> 01:24:36.159 its owner for her medical expenses as well as emotional 1576 01:24:36.199 --> 01:24:41.119 distress and pain and suffering. So his shitty beer has 1577 01:24:41.119 --> 01:24:43.800 claimed another victim. I'm telling you, I was fine until 1578 01:24:43.800 --> 01:24:46.279 I had that fucking beer, and then I got sick. 1579 01:24:47.079 --> 01:24:50.199 That's one hell of a coincidence. And now this woman 1580 01:24:50.279 --> 01:24:55.359 has been permanently disfigured. This is some final destination shit 1581 01:24:55.479 --> 01:24:59.319 is what this is. Don't drink Stone Cold's new Broken 1582 01:24:59.359 --> 01:25:02.399 Skull ips. He's got a new Broken Skull three sixteen IPA. 1583 01:25:02.520 --> 01:25:05.560 It's out this week. I haven't tried it yet, but 1584 01:25:05.560 --> 01:25:09.479 at least it won't kill you. And I'm not sure 1585 01:25:09.520 --> 01:25:13.960 why this is first being reported now, as the podcast 1586 01:25:13.960 --> 01:25:16.920 that she was on is from November, but it was 1587 01:25:16.960 --> 01:25:19.239 only first report. I guess people only caught onto it 1588 01:25:19.279 --> 01:25:23.840 this week that former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, the first 1589 01:25:23.840 --> 01:25:30.159 female referee in WWE history, spent a year under contract 1590 01:25:30.479 --> 01:25:35.880 with AEW, although she did, in her own words, absolutely 1591 01:25:35.920 --> 01:25:41.439 nothing during her time with the company. Chatterton she's the one. 1592 01:25:41.479 --> 01:25:45.079 If you Recall, who has always alleged that she was 1593 01:25:45.199 --> 01:25:47.960 raped by Vince McMahon in the back of his limousine 1594 01:25:48.079 --> 01:25:52.159 in nineteen eighty six, appeared on Power and Glory the 1595 01:25:52.239 --> 01:25:55.800 podcast and recounted the story of how she started making 1596 01:25:55.880 --> 01:25:59.640 wrestling appearances again after decades away from the business, What 1597 01:25:59.680 --> 01:26:03.319 happened and was She agreed to receive an award, the 1598 01:26:03.359 --> 01:26:07.079 Trailblazer Award from the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame 1599 01:26:07.119 --> 01:26:10.640 back in twenty twenty one. That led to Chatterton being 1600 01:26:10.680 --> 01:26:15.600 contacted by Tony Kahan and signing a contract with aw 1601 01:26:16.439 --> 01:26:20.199 and She says that Tony was very nice during their interactions. 1602 01:26:20.199 --> 01:26:22.680 But this is how she recounts how this all came together. 1603 01:26:24.520 --> 01:26:26.279 She said, I turn around and I do this event 1604 01:26:26.399 --> 01:26:29.800 for the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame President Seth Turner. 1605 01:26:30.319 --> 01:26:33.239 I get the Trailblazer Award, and you know, it's kind 1606 01:26:33.279 --> 01:26:35.520 of like riding a Harley. It's in your blood and 1607 01:26:35.560 --> 01:26:38.159 it started creeping back into my blood. Well, a few 1608 01:26:38.199 --> 01:26:41.359 weeks after that, Seth calls me and says, Rita, there's 1609 01:26:41.399 --> 01:26:42.920 this guy that's trying to get a hold of you. 1610 01:26:43.000 --> 01:26:45.600 He wants your phone number. And I said, well, who's 1611 01:26:45.600 --> 01:26:48.319 that And he says, well, his name is Tony Kahan, 1612 01:26:49.439 --> 01:26:54.399 and Rita says, who the hell is Tony Kahan? And 1613 01:26:54.439 --> 01:26:56.920 he says, no, no, Rita, you should probably take his call. 1614 01:26:57.199 --> 01:26:58.680 And I say, well, why do I want to take 1615 01:26:58.680 --> 01:27:02.720 his call? Says well, he owns the Jacksonville Jaguars. And 1616 01:27:02.800 --> 01:27:04.680 she says, well, why the hell would anyone who owns 1617 01:27:04.680 --> 01:27:08.560 the Jacksonville Jaguars want my phone number? And he says, well, 1618 01:27:08.600 --> 01:27:12.079 he also owns AEW wrestling and she says, well, all right, 1619 01:27:12.359 --> 01:27:15.239 give him my phone number. So he gives him my 1620 01:27:15.279 --> 01:27:17.479 phone number. I don't hear anything, and a couple of 1621 01:27:17.479 --> 01:27:19.399 weeks later, I get this phone call and I look 1622 01:27:19.479 --> 01:27:21.479 and I don't know the number. Then I get to 1623 01:27:21.520 --> 01:27:23.159 thinking about it, I say, well, let me call that 1624 01:27:23.239 --> 01:27:26.439 number back. So I call it back and it's Tony Kahan. 1625 01:27:27.479 --> 01:27:30.439 So Tony and I had a nice long talk, and 1626 01:27:30.479 --> 01:27:33.119 I was under contract with him for a year. Very 1627 01:27:33.199 --> 01:27:38.760 nice man, a gentleman, very very nice man. And apparently 1628 01:27:39.680 --> 01:27:43.119 talent scout is what her role was. I guess that 1629 01:27:43.239 --> 01:27:47.079 was the role listed on her aw contract. But she 1630 01:27:47.159 --> 01:27:49.359 never did anything while she was with the promotion. And 1631 01:27:49.399 --> 01:27:50.720 she said that she did go to a couple of 1632 01:27:50.760 --> 01:27:53.960 Jacksonville Jaguars games, though she said, you know what, I 1633 01:27:53.960 --> 01:27:55.600 was under contract with him for a year and I 1634 01:27:55.600 --> 01:27:59.199 did absolutely nothing. I did absolutely nothing, but he wanted 1635 01:27:59.199 --> 01:28:01.600 me under contract, and so I was under contract with him. 1636 01:28:02.800 --> 01:28:08.079 And during the interview is a video interview with her 1637 01:28:08.720 --> 01:28:13.039 was Mario Mancini, who spent time in the WWF. He 1638 01:28:13.079 --> 01:28:16.319 was a journeyman guy for many years. I think Mancini 1639 01:28:16.439 --> 01:28:20.039 was one of only two people that she confided in 1640 01:28:20.119 --> 01:28:23.239 back in eighty six after the incident with Vince and 1641 01:28:23.279 --> 01:28:26.079 the other person that she told about what happened and 1642 01:28:26.119 --> 01:28:30.279 confided in Andrea the Giant. It was Andrea the Giant 1643 01:28:30.319 --> 01:28:32.600 of Mario Mancini that she says she told about that. 1644 01:28:33.840 --> 01:28:37.159 But Mancini said that Chatterton had a talent scout contract 1645 01:28:37.199 --> 01:28:38.880 and he would put wrestlers in front of her to 1646 01:28:38.920 --> 01:28:42.920 potentially recommend to the powers that be at aw And 1647 01:28:43.359 --> 01:28:46.800 these days he helps out at the Paradise Alley Pro 1648 01:28:46.840 --> 01:28:49.800 Wrestling School, which I believe he runs with Paul Roma, 1649 01:28:50.279 --> 01:28:55.319 who was hosting the podcast. So there you go. Rita Chatterton, 1650 01:28:55.479 --> 01:29:00.079 unbeknownst to anybody, was under contract for a year to 1651 01:29:00.359 --> 01:29:04.399 aw And I'm sure a lot of people are gonna 1652 01:29:04.399 --> 01:29:06.600 look at this and they're gonna rant. And why would 1653 01:29:06.600 --> 01:29:08.960 he sign someone to a contract like that and then 1654 01:29:09.000 --> 01:29:12.239 have them do nothing? You know what? If Tony wanted 1655 01:29:12.279 --> 01:29:15.520 to pay this woman for a year, that's basically all 1656 01:29:15.520 --> 01:29:17.560 this was. It sounds like it's just he wanted to 1657 01:29:17.600 --> 01:29:21.560 give her a paycheck for a year. Great, and she 1658 01:29:21.600 --> 01:29:23.840 had nothing but positive things to say about him. She 1659 01:29:23.880 --> 01:29:27.039 said he was a perfect gentleman. But if that's what 1660 01:29:27.079 --> 01:29:29.920 he wanted to do, more power to him. I got 1661 01:29:29.920 --> 01:29:34.159 no problem with it. Today's episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. 1662 01:29:34.720 --> 01:29:38.439 When it comes to relationships, you always hear about red flags. 1663 01:29:38.520 --> 01:29:41.199 Right Here's here's one red flag to avoid. Here's another 1664 01:29:41.239 --> 01:29:45.279 red flag to avoid. What if we focus more on 1665 01:29:45.359 --> 01:29:47.920 looking for green flags when it comes to your friends 1666 01:29:47.960 --> 01:29:50.920 and your partners. If you're not sure what they look like, 1667 01:29:51.439 --> 01:29:55.119 therapy can help you identify those green flags, even actively 1668 01:29:55.159 --> 01:29:59.560 practice them in your relationships. Maybe it's sharing, Maybe it's 1669 01:29:59.560 --> 01:30:01.199 having more of a sense of humor. It can be 1670 01:30:01.239 --> 01:30:04.880 any number of things. Whether you're dating, you're married, you're 1671 01:30:04.920 --> 01:30:07.800 building a friendship with someone, or just working on yourself. 1672 01:30:08.399 --> 01:30:11.800 It's time to form relationships that love you back. The 1673 01:30:11.880 --> 01:30:16.279 benefits that therapy can carry are endless. Whatever experiences you've had, 1674 01:30:17.159 --> 01:30:19.119 you just know that there are other people out there 1675 01:30:19.119 --> 01:30:21.319 that have gone through the same thing or something similar, 1676 01:30:22.039 --> 01:30:24.640 so you're not alone. But therapy can help teach you 1677 01:30:24.720 --> 01:30:27.640 things like positive coping skills and how to set boundaries 1678 01:30:27.680 --> 01:30:30.239 in your life. It can help you become the best 1679 01:30:30.399 --> 01:30:34.119 possible version of yourself. It's what we all want, but 1680 01:30:34.199 --> 01:30:36.159 a lot of us struggle with that. Every single day. 1681 01:30:36.439 --> 01:30:39.079 There's always some kind of problem that we're dealing with, 1682 01:30:39.520 --> 01:30:43.840 whether it's physical, emotional, or otherwise. But you need to 1683 01:30:43.880 --> 01:30:46.479 first take that step and admit that there's something wrong 1684 01:30:46.680 --> 01:30:49.760 and that you need help. If you're thinking about jumping 1685 01:30:49.840 --> 01:30:52.000 in the pool, I can tell you that Betterhelp is 1686 01:30:52.079 --> 01:30:56.600 completely online, making therapy affordable and convenient, and you'll be 1687 01:30:56.680 --> 01:31:00.399 joining the more than five million people worldwide being served 1688 01:31:00.399 --> 01:31:03.560 by better Help right now. You'll also have access to 1689 01:31:03.600 --> 01:31:07.279 a network of more than thirty thousand credential therapists with 1690 01:31:07.359 --> 01:31:10.279 a wide range of specialties, and you can easily switch 1691 01:31:10.319 --> 01:31:14.479 therapists at any time at no extra cost. Discover your 1692 01:31:14.600 --> 01:31:19.399 relationship green flags with better Help, Visit Betterhelp Dot com 1693 01:31:19.439 --> 01:31:23.079 slash Solomonster today to get ten percent off your first month. 1694 01:31:23.600 --> 01:31:27.520 That's better help h e LP dot com slash solo 1695 01:31:27.600 --> 01:31:32.920 Monster aw held its Grand Slam Australia show in Brisbane, 1696 01:31:32.960 --> 01:31:36.319 which did not air too late last night. I finished 1697 01:31:36.359 --> 01:31:39.039 up with it this morning and I thought it was excellent, 1698 01:31:39.439 --> 01:31:41.840 the best show all weekend, and it continues the streak 1699 01:31:41.880 --> 01:31:43.960 that they are on right now of good shows, this 1700 01:31:44.039 --> 01:31:46.439 being the best of the bunch. To show you just 1701 01:31:46.520 --> 01:31:49.159 how expensive tickets were for this show, and this may 1702 01:31:49.159 --> 01:31:51.359 not be across the board. I'm sure some people got 1703 01:31:51.399 --> 01:31:54.680 in for a lot less, but with eleven thousand fans 1704 01:31:54.840 --> 01:31:56.920 said to be in the building, Tony Kahn says that 1705 01:31:56.960 --> 01:31:59.640 it is one of the biggest live gates in the 1706 01:31:59.680 --> 01:32:03.159 history of the company, so probably behind only the two 1707 01:32:03.199 --> 01:32:06.000 shows they did at Wembley Stadium, which had considerably more 1708 01:32:06.039 --> 01:32:09.119 people each time. So I don't know where they are 1709 01:32:09.199 --> 01:32:11.680 right now as far as the gate for Texas in July, 1710 01:32:11.800 --> 01:32:13.680 but I'm sure in the end that'll end up ahead 1711 01:32:13.720 --> 01:32:17.079 of this one. At least they didn't glaze themselves in 1712 01:32:17.079 --> 01:32:19.039 front of the fans about how much money they made 1713 01:32:19.079 --> 01:32:23.560 off of them. Fans there were loud though, and because 1714 01:32:23.560 --> 01:32:25.720 they ended up running an arena and not a stadium. 1715 01:32:25.760 --> 01:32:28.960 And again I've talked about the journey that they took 1716 01:32:29.119 --> 01:32:32.359 from the moment the show was announced right on through 1717 01:32:32.399 --> 01:32:37.079 the show itself. It honestly was one long, embarrassing journey, 1718 01:32:37.319 --> 01:32:40.479 and we've already talked that length about that. But the 1719 01:32:40.479 --> 01:32:42.880 show itself, I mean, it was in a smaller arena. 1720 01:32:42.920 --> 01:32:44.479 It was not in a big stadium like it was 1721 01:32:44.520 --> 01:32:46.960 originally supposed to be, but they were able to pack 1722 01:32:47.000 --> 01:32:49.640 it in because it was a smaller venue. So it 1723 01:32:49.640 --> 01:32:51.640 looked mostly full. I don't know that it was sold out, 1724 01:32:51.680 --> 01:32:53.520 but they had a lot of people there. And the 1725 01:32:53.560 --> 01:32:56.159 first thing I noticed, other than the crowd was the ring. 1726 01:32:56.920 --> 01:33:00.760 The ring looked a little bit different. It was noticeably 1727 01:33:00.840 --> 01:33:04.720 smaller than the ring they usually use, not quite as 1728 01:33:04.760 --> 01:33:07.439 small as the ring that TNA used when they ran 1729 01:33:07.479 --> 01:33:09.920 Webster Hall that one time. I have no idea, still 1730 01:33:09.960 --> 01:33:11.640 to this day, how the wrestlers were able to do 1731 01:33:11.680 --> 01:33:14.880 anything in that ring. It looked like a fucking hasbro ring, 1732 01:33:15.720 --> 01:33:18.359 but this one was definitely smaller. They had a ton 1733 01:33:18.399 --> 01:33:21.199 of extra space around the ring outside, more than I've 1734 01:33:21.239 --> 01:33:25.479 ever seen before. I saw tweets about them having to 1735 01:33:25.560 --> 01:33:28.720 borrow a local ring from an independent promotion. I don't 1736 01:33:28.720 --> 01:33:31.680 know what happened, and I'm certainly not assuming anything I 1737 01:33:31.760 --> 01:33:35.680 see on fucking Twitter to be true. It may be, 1738 01:33:36.840 --> 01:33:40.159 but it's not like the ring skirts were hanging off 1739 01:33:40.239 --> 01:33:42.520 the edges of the ring. It looked like it fit 1740 01:33:42.600 --> 01:33:45.159 the ring. So they had to have some sense of 1741 01:33:45.199 --> 01:33:46.960 what size the ring was going to be, which is 1742 01:33:46.960 --> 01:33:49.520 why I'm not taking anything I see on Twitter at 1743 01:33:49.520 --> 01:33:53.199 phase value. But they had just a little less room 1744 01:33:53.680 --> 01:33:56.560 to do all their shit, and they opened with Kenny 1745 01:33:56.600 --> 01:34:01.199 Omega and will Ospray against Kyle Fletcher and Knewski Ta Keshta. 1746 01:34:01.680 --> 01:34:04.479 Anyone wondering if they would cheer Fletcher and boo the 1747 01:34:04.520 --> 01:34:06.760 baby faces, I don't know why anybody would think that 1748 01:34:06.800 --> 01:34:09.560 they would boo Omega and Osprey, but they did not, 1749 01:34:10.720 --> 01:34:13.359 and in fact, Kenny Omega was treated like a god 1750 01:34:13.600 --> 01:34:16.640 when he came out. Unfortunately, he came out to his 1751 01:34:16.680 --> 01:34:20.960 shitty new music, so that was disappointing. The match was not. 1752 01:34:21.520 --> 01:34:24.159 The match was awesome, and I would expect nothing less 1753 01:34:24.159 --> 01:34:26.399 from these four. This was the match of the night 1754 01:34:26.520 --> 01:34:28.880 right here, and I loved the combo finish from the 1755 01:34:28.880 --> 01:34:32.000 baby Faces. Omega had Takeshta up on his shoulders for 1756 01:34:32.039 --> 01:34:35.439 the One Winged Angel as Ospray came off the top 1757 01:34:35.520 --> 01:34:37.119 rope with a hidden blade to the back of the 1758 01:34:37.159 --> 01:34:41.720 head right as Omega dropped him, and Omega pins to Keshta. 1759 01:34:42.479 --> 01:34:44.520 So they spared Fletcher. I mean, they did pin the 1760 01:34:44.600 --> 01:34:47.039 champion here, although it is leading to a title match, 1761 01:34:47.039 --> 01:34:49.079 so that's good. If you're gonna pin the champion, then 1762 01:34:49.560 --> 01:34:52.520 at least it should lead to a title match. But 1763 01:34:52.600 --> 01:34:56.239 they spared Fletcher the pin in his home country, and 1764 01:34:56.279 --> 01:34:59.000 then later on in the show in the back, Omega 1765 01:34:59.119 --> 01:35:02.680 challenged Takesha to a match at Revolution for the international title, 1766 01:35:03.399 --> 01:35:05.880 wanting to see if Takesha could beat him for a 1767 01:35:05.920 --> 01:35:10.439 third time, because remember Takeshta pined Omega. Not only did 1768 01:35:10.439 --> 01:35:11.960 he pin him, well, he pinned him twice, but he 1769 01:35:11.960 --> 01:35:14.000 pinned him in a six man tag at Wembley Stadium 1770 01:35:14.000 --> 01:35:16.439 at that first all in show that was back in 1771 01:35:16.439 --> 01:35:20.079 twenty twenty three, and in the same week right the 1772 01:35:20.119 --> 01:35:22.840 following weekend they had All Out and we had a 1773 01:35:22.880 --> 01:35:26.319 singles match between then, and he pinned Omega there too, 1774 01:35:26.479 --> 01:35:28.520 So Kenny is daring him to do it for a 1775 01:35:28.600 --> 01:35:31.960 third time, and that feels like an Omega title win. 1776 01:35:32.039 --> 01:35:36.199 And then they build to Omega versus Okada Champion against 1777 01:35:36.239 --> 01:35:38.399 Champion in July at All In, and I don't know 1778 01:35:38.439 --> 01:35:41.439 if they would want to merge the titles or not, 1779 01:35:41.600 --> 01:35:44.319 but that's what this feels like to me. Will Osprey 1780 01:35:44.399 --> 01:35:47.039 then cut a promo challenging Kyle Fletcher to a steal 1781 01:35:47.079 --> 01:35:50.920 cage match at Revolution. So those are two huge matches 1782 01:35:50.920 --> 01:35:55.640 now added to that pay per view. Mercedes Monet against 1783 01:35:55.680 --> 01:35:59.560 Harley Cameron for the TBS Championship in Harley's home country. 1784 01:36:00.119 --> 01:36:03.640 Harley was super over and Mercedes gave her the best 1785 01:36:03.680 --> 01:36:07.800 match of her career. She carried a very inexperienced wrestler. 1786 01:36:07.840 --> 01:36:10.800 I mean, look, Harley's only been wrestling for three years, 1787 01:36:11.439 --> 01:36:14.800 carried her to a good match. And let's not kid 1788 01:36:14.840 --> 01:36:17.319 ourselves here, Okay, Harley Cameron has not been doing this 1789 01:36:17.359 --> 01:36:20.600 for very long. She came into this show with one 1790 01:36:20.800 --> 01:36:23.920 win her entire aaw run. That first singles win was 1791 01:36:24.000 --> 01:36:26.239 just recently against Tye Valkyrie, and she's been there for 1792 01:36:26.279 --> 01:36:30.199 a few years now. Her first win, which is why 1793 01:36:30.239 --> 01:36:32.800 it was ridiculous seeing so many people advocating for a 1794 01:36:32.840 --> 01:36:35.680 title change here, because that would have been the wrong move. 1795 01:36:35.840 --> 01:36:38.319 The right move, which is what they did, was to 1796 01:36:38.359 --> 01:36:41.359 give Harley a nice showcase and have her come close 1797 01:36:41.840 --> 01:36:44.760 but then fall short. And this was not the best 1798 01:36:44.800 --> 01:36:47.119 Mercedes match of her run or anything like that, but 1799 01:36:47.159 --> 01:36:49.359 it was. I thought it was perfectly fine for what 1800 01:36:49.439 --> 01:36:52.840 it needed to be, and if they want to now 1801 01:36:52.880 --> 01:36:55.239 there is a longer term story they could tell with 1802 01:36:55.319 --> 01:36:58.159 Harley eventually winning the title, that this was not the 1803 01:36:58.239 --> 01:37:01.039 time to do it. This was the time to show 1804 01:37:01.079 --> 01:37:04.119 people that for all the comedy that she does, she 1805 01:37:04.239 --> 01:37:07.600 could be taken seriously as a wrestler, and I think 1806 01:37:07.640 --> 01:37:10.439 they accomplished that. I could have done with less of 1807 01:37:10.439 --> 01:37:13.199 the puppet Mercedes stuff during the match, though, but that 1808 01:37:13.239 --> 01:37:18.640 would really be my only critique about this. Adam Copeland 1809 01:37:19.199 --> 01:37:23.159 and Jay White against John Moxley and Claudio Castignoli in 1810 01:37:23.199 --> 01:37:26.960 a Brisbane brawl. Very cool moment where the crowd kept 1811 01:37:26.960 --> 01:37:29.880 singing Copeland's theme song even after they stopped playing it. 1812 01:37:31.000 --> 01:37:34.199 This was your your typical garbage match with weapons and 1813 01:37:34.239 --> 01:37:38.239 plunder and brawling in the crowd. Copeland did a balcony 1814 01:37:38.279 --> 01:37:41.279 dive spot in the crowd onto Claudio, which is crazy 1815 01:37:41.359 --> 01:37:43.199 for a fifty year old who just came back from 1816 01:37:43.239 --> 01:37:46.279 a broken leg diving off the top of the cage. 1817 01:37:47.399 --> 01:37:50.960 This was still a lot safer though it wouldn't be 1818 01:37:51.000 --> 01:37:54.760 a death Rider's match without Wheeler fucking Udah getting involved. 1819 01:37:54.800 --> 01:37:57.279 But he got dropped by White with a blade runner. 1820 01:37:57.479 --> 01:38:00.920 You know, you would think that the babyfaces would bring 1821 01:38:00.960 --> 01:38:04.159 their friends with them, given the death Riders always have 1822 01:38:04.239 --> 01:38:07.600 the strength in numbers, right, Copeland's got friends in FTR. 1823 01:38:08.720 --> 01:38:12.039 Jay White has friends and the guns, but they were 1824 01:38:12.079 --> 01:38:15.439 nowhere to be found. I mean, I know Australia has 1825 01:38:15.479 --> 01:38:18.279 strict gun control laws down there, but I mean, come on, 1826 01:38:19.720 --> 01:38:24.039 get it gun control anyway. For the finish, Copeland teased 1827 01:38:24.039 --> 01:38:28.079 the concerto using a chair wrapped in barbed wire, but 1828 01:38:28.279 --> 01:38:31.000 you to pull the chair away. Claudio hit the neutralizer 1829 01:38:31.039 --> 01:38:34.239 for a near fall, but Moxley locked on the bulldog 1830 01:38:34.319 --> 01:38:38.279 choke as you to held White back. Copeland tried to 1831 01:38:38.279 --> 01:38:41.800 fight out of it. Moxley tightened the choke and Copeland 1832 01:38:41.840 --> 01:38:45.520 went out for the rep stoppage and the crowd did 1833 01:38:45.520 --> 01:38:48.439 not like that finish. And I was surprised by the 1834 01:38:48.479 --> 01:38:51.279 finish because I figured they would give Copeland the wind 1835 01:38:52.079 --> 01:38:55.720 and then he would lose at Revolution, but with him 1836 01:38:55.800 --> 01:38:59.680 losing here, especially the way that he did, that would 1837 01:38:59.680 --> 01:39:02.439 make a win at Revolution a lot more likely. And 1838 01:39:02.680 --> 01:39:05.319 I don't like that idea. I mean, I'm all forgetting 1839 01:39:05.359 --> 01:39:08.199 the title away from the Death Riders, but Adam Copeland 1840 01:39:08.239 --> 01:39:12.399 ain't the right choice, you know, unless Christian immediately cashes 1841 01:39:12.399 --> 01:39:16.319 in his contract on him to win. But honestly, you know, 1842 01:39:16.439 --> 01:39:19.920 either of those outcomes would feel like an anticlimactic way 1843 01:39:19.920 --> 01:39:22.279 for Moxley's run to end. It always felt like this 1844 01:39:22.399 --> 01:39:24.920 was building to an aw original or a younger guy 1845 01:39:24.960 --> 01:39:28.279 being the one to get the rub and to take 1846 01:39:28.279 --> 01:39:32.920 that championship away from Moxley, you know, Adam Copeland winning 1847 01:39:32.920 --> 01:39:36.000 the title, or even Christian Cage winning the title. You know, 1848 01:39:36.720 --> 01:39:40.039 just it feels wrong. It really should not be either 1849 01:39:40.079 --> 01:39:45.520 one of those guys Kazuchka Okada against Buddy Matthews for 1850 01:39:45.600 --> 01:39:49.079 the continental title. Another Aussie goes down in flames here. 1851 01:39:49.960 --> 01:39:52.039 If anything surprised me, it was how many people in 1852 01:39:52.039 --> 01:39:54.239 the crowd seem to really think that Matthews was gonna 1853 01:39:54.279 --> 01:39:57.279 win that championship? Have they not paid attention to the 1854 01:39:57.319 --> 01:40:01.680 teases for Texas retaining was more obvious than any of 1855 01:40:01.680 --> 01:40:04.399 the other champions on this show, retaining, even Mercedes. I 1856 01:40:04.399 --> 01:40:06.840 thought there was a small chance with Mercedes they might 1857 01:40:06.840 --> 01:40:09.239 take the title off for her. There was no chance 1858 01:40:09.279 --> 01:40:11.680 in this match, but they got the crowd to buy 1859 01:40:11.680 --> 01:40:16.279 into it. Matthews was favoring his ankle. I didn't see 1860 01:40:16.279 --> 01:40:19.359 how or why. Hopefully he was just selling. But even 1861 01:40:19.399 --> 01:40:21.720 after the match people said that he was helped to 1862 01:40:21.760 --> 01:40:24.640 the back. If he was heard, it certainly didn't affect 1863 01:40:24.640 --> 01:40:26.359 the quality of the match. I thought this was a 1864 01:40:26.479 --> 01:40:30.039 very good match. Ocatta hit the rain Maker and to 1865 01:40:30.079 --> 01:40:34.479 his surprise, Matthews kicked out and ending it there would 1866 01:40:34.479 --> 01:40:37.640 have been very underwhelming, but he kicked out, and maybe 1867 01:40:37.640 --> 01:40:39.399 that's why the crowd thought he was winning, because he 1868 01:40:39.479 --> 01:40:42.479 kicked out of the rain Maker. Matthews hit Murphy's Law 1869 01:40:42.520 --> 01:40:45.800 a few minutes later, his or I guess Matthew's Law, right, 1870 01:40:45.840 --> 01:40:47.359 I guess that's what it would be called now. His 1871 01:40:47.640 --> 01:40:51.479 Matthew's Law finish. But Olkatta got his foot on the 1872 01:40:51.479 --> 01:40:55.680 middle rope at the very last second and fans chanted bullshit. 1873 01:40:56.239 --> 01:40:58.439 So from where they were sitting, it may have looked 1874 01:40:58.479 --> 01:41:02.279 like a three, but it wasn't. Matthews got Rhea Ripley's 1875 01:41:02.279 --> 01:41:05.439 prism lock applied to a big pop Ocatta got out 1876 01:41:05.479 --> 01:41:09.560 of it, had the referee, but Mule kicked Buddy Matthews, 1877 01:41:09.560 --> 01:41:12.439 which the referee did not see, and then he finished 1878 01:41:12.479 --> 01:41:15.439 him off with the rain Maker to retain the title. 1879 01:41:15.520 --> 01:41:17.560 So kind of a lame finish there. It didn't take 1880 01:41:17.560 --> 01:41:19.680 away from how great the match was. I thought it 1881 01:41:19.720 --> 01:41:24.439 was a very good match, and the correct match got 1882 01:41:24.439 --> 01:41:26.840 the main event spot. It was not the best match 1883 01:41:26.880 --> 01:41:29.119 on the show that was the opener, but given where 1884 01:41:29.119 --> 01:41:31.800 they were and given how long this feud has been 1885 01:41:31.800 --> 01:41:34.439 going on for, it was the right choice to close 1886 01:41:34.479 --> 01:41:38.520 the show, especially with the title change timeless. Tony Storm 1887 01:41:39.239 --> 01:41:43.279 beat Mariah May to regain the aw Women's World Championship 1888 01:41:43.319 --> 01:41:47.239 for the fourth time. This is why Harley Cameron and 1889 01:41:47.279 --> 01:41:51.439 Buddy Matthews lost. I mean they were probably losing anyway, 1890 01:41:51.479 --> 01:41:55.000 but the two ossees lose to make Tony winning in 1891 01:41:55.039 --> 01:41:58.800 the main event mean more. And Mariah gave Tony a 1892 01:41:58.840 --> 01:42:01.439 may Day on the floor, which had to have sucked 1893 01:42:02.159 --> 01:42:05.000 in the ring. Later, Tony hit Mariah with may Day 1894 01:42:05.079 --> 01:42:07.880 for two. Then came the running hip attacks, which from 1895 01:42:07.960 --> 01:42:12.560 Tony's Storm just looked absolutely brutal more than anyone in 1896 01:42:12.600 --> 01:42:15.199 the bloodline. When they do it, I don't know how 1897 01:42:15.199 --> 01:42:19.039 she does it without scrambling her opponent's brains. She hits 1898 01:42:19.039 --> 01:42:23.640 Storm zero, but Mariah kicks out. Mariah comes back, hits 1899 01:42:23.720 --> 01:42:27.319 may Day not once but twice, but Tony kicked out, 1900 01:42:28.399 --> 01:42:31.840 and it got a little ridiculous with all the finish kickouts. 1901 01:42:32.119 --> 01:42:34.640 Tony hit a running power bomb and then another Storm zero, 1902 01:42:35.359 --> 01:42:37.920 but Mariah rolled out to the floor to avoid the pin. 1903 01:42:38.600 --> 01:42:40.920 Tony went to go get her but got yanked into 1904 01:42:40.960 --> 01:42:44.359 the turnbuckle and Mariah hit Storm zero, but she didn't 1905 01:42:44.399 --> 01:42:47.039 go for the pin, and she opted instead to try 1906 01:42:47.079 --> 01:42:50.279 another may Day when Tony rolled her up and pinned 1907 01:42:50.319 --> 01:42:55.239 her the dreaded roll up of doom. I actually did 1908 01:42:55.239 --> 01:42:57.239 not hate the finish as much as I thought I would, 1909 01:42:57.960 --> 01:43:00.880 because there's gonna be a third match. There has to be. 1910 01:43:00.920 --> 01:43:02.720 There has to be a third match between these two, 1911 01:43:03.279 --> 01:43:05.119 So if they wanted to hold off on a more 1912 01:43:05.159 --> 01:43:08.640 decisive finish for the next one, that makes sense to me. 1913 01:43:09.600 --> 01:43:11.800 You know, Mariah can turn around and say that you 1914 01:43:11.800 --> 01:43:14.000 you know she won on a fluke, you didn't really 1915 01:43:14.039 --> 01:43:16.960 beat me, and she calls for a rematch, which they 1916 01:43:17.000 --> 01:43:20.319 can do at Revolution in a few weeks with a stipulation, right, 1917 01:43:20.359 --> 01:43:23.159 maybe something like last Woman Standing or something like that. 1918 01:43:24.239 --> 01:43:25.880 So they had a very good match. It just felt 1919 01:43:25.920 --> 01:43:28.920 like they were saving their very best for the blowoff, 1920 01:43:30.119 --> 01:43:33.279 and they really need to do this at Revolution. They 1921 01:43:33.319 --> 01:43:35.760 need to blow this off at Revolution, not in Dynasty, 1922 01:43:36.560 --> 01:43:41.000 not a double or nothing, not in Texas. These two 1923 01:43:41.039 --> 01:43:43.800 women have had that world title. Think about this, okay. 1924 01:43:44.079 --> 01:43:47.000 As great as they are, these two women have had 1925 01:43:47.039 --> 01:43:52.319 that world championship on lockdown since November of twenty twenty three. 1926 01:43:53.720 --> 01:43:56.439 Think of all the women in the division and the 1927 01:43:56.479 --> 01:44:01.479 world title has been centered around two of them, and 1928 01:44:01.640 --> 01:44:05.199 I've enjoyed it. But after Revolution, it's time to move 1929 01:44:05.239 --> 01:44:07.800 on to new stories and get some new women involved 1930 01:44:07.800 --> 01:44:09.640 at the top of the card. They have a ton 1931 01:44:09.680 --> 01:44:12.600 of talent in that women's division just waiting for the opportunity. 1932 01:44:13.439 --> 01:44:16.199 Mercedes has had the TBS title locked up for almost 1933 01:44:16.239 --> 01:44:19.119 a year now. Two it can't just be about Tony 1934 01:44:19.159 --> 01:44:21.760 and Mariah with the world title for another six months. 1935 01:44:22.119 --> 01:44:25.960 Let's get it done at Revolution. But this was a 1936 01:44:25.960 --> 01:44:28.600 great show, right, Not everything was great, Just like on 1937 01:44:28.640 --> 01:44:31.960 the NXT show, not everything was great but on the whole, 1938 01:44:32.039 --> 01:44:34.960 we got two very enjoyable shows this weekend. I just 1939 01:44:35.000 --> 01:44:38.640 happened to enjoy this one more. There were some big 1940 01:44:38.720 --> 01:44:43.359 changes internally at TNA this week, with Anthony Chacone who 1941 01:44:43.560 --> 01:44:46.840 works for Anthem and took over as TNA president when 1942 01:44:46.880 --> 01:44:50.920 they fired Scott de Moore getting ousted from the position 1943 01:44:51.000 --> 01:44:53.800 this week, so he lasted a year. He is still 1944 01:44:53.800 --> 01:44:56.760 with Anthem that they have moved him out of that spot. 1945 01:44:56.800 --> 01:45:01.039 And the new TNA president per pw Insider is Carlos Silva, 1946 01:45:01.960 --> 01:45:05.239 and absolutely no additional information about the men was given, 1947 01:45:05.319 --> 01:45:07.479 so I don't know who he is. I don't know 1948 01:45:07.479 --> 01:45:10.039 where he's from, what his background is, he has any 1949 01:45:10.079 --> 01:45:12.479 prior wrestling experience. I have no idea, but that's who 1950 01:45:12.479 --> 01:45:16.560 the new president of TNA is. They also fired Josh Matthews, 1951 01:45:16.560 --> 01:45:18.560 who had been there for over a decade and he 1952 01:45:18.640 --> 01:45:21.520 did commentary for a very long time in recent years. 1953 01:45:21.520 --> 01:45:23.600 He worked in the truck, he worked behind the scenes, 1954 01:45:24.760 --> 01:45:27.479 and Christy hemy was let go as well. She also 1955 01:45:27.560 --> 01:45:30.279 worked behind the scenes. She was running TNA social media. 1956 01:45:31.000 --> 01:45:33.960 In their place, they have brought in George Varies in 1957 01:45:34.000 --> 01:45:36.920 an executive producer role, so effectively what leaf fitting is 1958 01:45:36.960 --> 01:45:40.560 to WWE and Kevin Dunn used to be. He's someone 1959 01:45:40.640 --> 01:45:44.239 that has worked in the past for ABC Sports, NBCCBS, 1960 01:45:44.920 --> 01:45:48.399 Cleveland Browns, So the belief is that he'll be putting 1961 01:45:48.399 --> 01:45:50.359 his own team together, which is why we saw those 1962 01:45:50.399 --> 01:45:53.960 other names. Let go p w Insider says Mark Brown, 1963 01:45:54.039 --> 01:45:56.000 who was a director with Ring of Honor back in 1964 01:45:56.039 --> 01:45:58.640 the Sinclair days and worked with New Japan Pro Wrestling 1965 01:45:58.680 --> 01:46:01.840 on their US events, is coming in as a director, 1966 01:46:02.920 --> 01:46:08.079 and Fightful is reporting that Andrea or Andre Andrea could 1967 01:46:08.159 --> 01:46:11.479 just be Andrea. It's probably just Andrea, see but Andrea 1968 01:46:11.800 --> 01:46:17.399 Andrea sounds so much more eloquent. Andrea Pagnanelli has been 1969 01:46:17.479 --> 01:46:19.920 named Senior VP of Margie. See what I did? They 1970 01:46:19.920 --> 01:46:22.600 see how great I made that sound. I should be 1971 01:46:22.680 --> 01:46:25.640 like an announcer or something. This is all said to 1972 01:46:25.680 --> 01:46:28.600 be part of a restructuring by Anthem, and there is 1973 01:46:28.640 --> 01:46:31.119 not said to be any concern from talent or anybody 1974 01:46:31.199 --> 01:46:34.760 upset like they were when Demor was fired. And this 1975 01:46:35.000 --> 01:46:39.359 ride here is the best damn news all week, and 1976 01:46:39.399 --> 01:46:42.560 I'm happy to share it with you all. TNA star 1977 01:46:42.720 --> 01:46:46.439 Chris Bay, one half of the Tag Team ABC with 1978 01:46:46.680 --> 01:46:50.960 Ace Austen was paralyzed in a match back in October 1979 01:46:51.000 --> 01:46:53.800 against the Hardys, and ever since then there really have 1980 01:46:53.920 --> 01:46:56.439 not been any updates on his condition, which seemed to 1981 01:46:56.439 --> 01:46:58.479 be a bad thing right. A lot of people very 1982 01:46:58.479 --> 01:47:00.920 worried about the fact that there was no new information 1983 01:47:01.000 --> 01:47:03.760 about his condition. We didn't hear from him directly. There 1984 01:47:03.800 --> 01:47:05.920 was a GoFundMe set up for him that currently is 1985 01:47:05.960 --> 01:47:09.880 north of one hundred thousand dollars in counting, and different 1986 01:47:09.880 --> 01:47:13.640 promotions have been holding fundraisers for him. So it all 1987 01:47:13.680 --> 01:47:17.399 sounded very bad and we had no updates until now. 1988 01:47:18.439 --> 01:47:22.640 On Thursday, Chris posted to his social media on his 1989 01:47:22.720 --> 01:47:26.479 birthday a video of him standing up out of a 1990 01:47:26.560 --> 01:47:30.680 chair and walking towards the camera and with it, he 1991 01:47:30.800 --> 01:47:35.600 included this message today I turned twenty nine, blessed to 1992 01:47:35.640 --> 01:47:39.000 see it. On October twenty seven, twenty twenty four, I 1993 01:47:39.039 --> 01:47:42.199 suffered a life altering injury in Detroit at a TNA 1994 01:47:42.279 --> 01:47:45.720 event while sharing the ring with my partner, Ace Austen 1995 01:47:45.880 --> 01:47:48.920 and some of my idols, the Heartys. This was the 1996 01:47:48.920 --> 01:47:51.960 scariest moment of my life. I tried to get up 1997 01:47:52.000 --> 01:47:54.319 and finish the match, only to realize I could move 1998 01:47:54.960 --> 01:47:57.279 I was laid out paralyzed in the middle of the ring. 1999 01:47:57.359 --> 01:48:00.000 I felt ashamed for not being able to finish the match, 2000 01:48:00.560 --> 01:48:04.800 embarrassed and terrified. Thanks to our incredible ringside doctor and 2001 01:48:04.840 --> 01:48:07.359 the team at TNA, I was rushed to a nearby 2002 01:48:07.439 --> 01:48:11.680 hospital and quickly underwent surgery to fuse my neck at 2003 01:48:11.720 --> 01:48:15.600 C six C seven, along with a spinal cord fusion 2004 01:48:15.680 --> 01:48:19.600 at C six T one. If it wasn't for TNA 2005 01:48:19.640 --> 01:48:22.079 and their quick response, I might not be here today. 2006 01:48:22.600 --> 01:48:26.119 They have been so supportive throughout this entire journey. When 2007 01:48:26.159 --> 01:48:28.319 I woke up the next day, I was overwhelmed by 2008 01:48:28.319 --> 01:48:30.920 the love surrounding me in the outpouring of support from 2009 01:48:31.279 --> 01:48:34.359 the wrestling community. But I was also devastated by the 2010 01:48:34.399 --> 01:48:36.880 thought that my lifelong dream, an eight year wrestling career, 2011 01:48:36.960 --> 01:48:40.680 might be over. I lay there paralyzed from the neck 2012 01:48:40.720 --> 01:48:44.039 down with no promise of ever walking again. Doctors told 2013 01:48:44.079 --> 01:48:46.520 me it wasn't likely, just a ten to twenty five 2014 01:48:46.520 --> 01:48:49.560 percent chance. I had no use of my hands, which 2015 01:48:49.600 --> 01:48:52.439 made it impossible for me to post or respond to anything. 2016 01:48:53.319 --> 01:48:56.119 I spent about a week in the ICU and then 2017 01:48:56.199 --> 01:48:59.119 fifty days in a spinal cord rehab facility in Detroit, 2018 01:48:59.199 --> 01:49:01.760 doing therapy se days a week for three hours a day, 2019 01:49:01.840 --> 01:49:05.359 sometimes longer. On December twenty eighth, I was finally able 2020 01:49:05.359 --> 01:49:08.279 to go home. Since then, I have been in therapy, 2021 01:49:08.399 --> 01:49:10.800 working as hard as I can. I've had an incredible 2022 01:49:10.840 --> 01:49:13.880 support system. There are so many people I want to think, 2023 01:49:14.239 --> 01:49:16.119 but if I had to narrow it down, I must 2024 01:49:16.119 --> 01:49:20.399 thank my family, my TNA family, the dedicated staff in Detroit, 2025 01:49:21.039 --> 01:49:23.760 my brother Ace Austin for never leaving my side, and 2026 01:49:23.840 --> 01:49:27.159 my amazing girlfriend Britney Brooks for being there every step 2027 01:49:27.159 --> 01:49:29.720 of the way while I was at my lowest. If 2028 01:49:29.760 --> 01:49:33.039 you've reached out, donated, bought merch, said a prayer, or 2029 01:49:33.079 --> 01:49:35.119 even just shared a thought about me, thank you. I 2030 01:49:35.159 --> 01:49:38.680 am eternally grateful for every single one of you. Because 2031 01:49:38.680 --> 01:49:41.319 of you, even on my hardest days, I never gave up. 2032 01:49:41.720 --> 01:49:44.159 Because of you, I've lived my dream and in my opinion, 2033 01:49:44.199 --> 01:49:47.239 helped inspire others to do the same. There's so much 2034 01:49:47.279 --> 01:49:49.239 more to the story, and I will share all the 2035 01:49:49.279 --> 01:49:52.960 details soon, but please allow me the time to get there. 2036 01:49:53.479 --> 01:49:56.279 Today you see me celebrating life and taking the steps 2037 01:49:56.319 --> 01:49:59.239 they said would be unlikely. For three weeks, I've been 2038 01:49:59.239 --> 01:50:02.880 out of my wheelchair, learning to walk again. Nothing is impossible. 2039 01:50:03.239 --> 01:50:05.680 You just have to believe and do the work. I 2040 01:50:05.720 --> 01:50:09.279 thank God every second. I thank you every second. Will 2041 01:50:09.319 --> 01:50:12.600 I ever wrestle again? Never say never. I'm just so 2042 01:50:12.720 --> 01:50:15.520 grateful to be alive. I don't know what my purpose is, 2043 01:50:15.560 --> 01:50:17.680 but I know that there's something meant for me to do. 2044 01:50:18.399 --> 01:50:20.640 For now, I just hope to continue healing as my 2045 01:50:20.680 --> 01:50:23.159 body is still in a lot of pain. It's going 2046 01:50:23.199 --> 01:50:25.279 to be a long road, but I will not give up. 2047 01:50:25.880 --> 01:50:29.520 This will be the greatest story ever told. I love 2048 01:50:29.560 --> 01:50:35.520 you all. To see him up and walking was just incredible. 2049 01:50:36.239 --> 01:50:39.520 And whether he ever wrestles again or not, you know, 2050 01:50:39.560 --> 01:50:41.880 like Biggie, if he can get his quality of life 2051 01:50:41.920 --> 01:50:44.159 back and live pain free, since he says he's still 2052 01:50:44.159 --> 01:50:47.359 in pain right now, that really is all the matters. 2053 01:50:47.520 --> 01:50:51.479 Like everything else will work itself out, everything else will 2054 01:50:51.520 --> 01:50:55.520 fall into place the way that it should. Tommy Dreamer 2055 01:50:55.560 --> 01:50:57.640 on Busted Open Radio said that he broke down in 2056 01:50:57.720 --> 01:50:59.840 tears when he saw him stand up in that video. 2057 01:51:00.479 --> 01:51:02.920 He was there when Chris got hurt, he said. Chris 2058 01:51:02.960 --> 01:51:05.880 asked that no one share any details about what happened 2059 01:51:05.880 --> 01:51:10.239 to him and everybody banded together and kept quiet about it, 2060 01:51:11.439 --> 01:51:14.279 well all except RVD, who went on his podcast a 2061 01:51:14.279 --> 01:51:16.680 few weeks ago and said Chris was paralyzed but was 2062 01:51:16.720 --> 01:51:21.199 starting to get everything back. But outside of that, everybody 2063 01:51:21.279 --> 01:51:24.720 kept quiet, which is a hard thing to do these days, right, 2064 01:51:24.720 --> 01:51:26.840 to keep something like that so close to the vest. 2065 01:51:26.880 --> 01:51:30.239 That's what happened after, you know, Brodie Lee got sick 2066 01:51:31.159 --> 01:51:33.239 those two months. You know, from the time he had 2067 01:51:33.239 --> 01:51:35.560 that last match and got sick to the time that 2068 01:51:35.600 --> 01:51:39.720 he passed away, there was really no information being released 2069 01:51:39.760 --> 01:51:41.439 and nobody knew what was going on with him. And 2070 01:51:41.479 --> 01:51:44.560 that was because his wife asked, you know, all the 2071 01:51:44.600 --> 01:51:49.439 folks in aw not to say anything, and everybody kept 2072 01:51:49.479 --> 01:51:52.119 their mouth shut. You know, they were respectful of her 2073 01:51:52.159 --> 01:51:54.359 wishes and respectful of the family, and they didn't let 2074 01:51:54.399 --> 01:51:56.439 anything get out. So it sounds like this was a 2075 01:51:56.439 --> 01:52:03.479 similar situation. And I think this is pretty cool and 2076 01:52:03.560 --> 01:52:09.479 maybe you will too. Gerald Brisco worked for WWE for 2077 01:52:09.600 --> 01:52:12.520 many years as a wrestler. He was a road agent, 2078 01:52:12.720 --> 01:52:15.319 a talent scout, he was a local promoter. I mean, 2079 01:52:15.560 --> 01:52:19.279 this all dates back to the early eighties and he 2080 01:52:19.439 --> 01:52:22.399 was one of the Vince McMahon's right hand men, and 2081 01:52:22.479 --> 01:52:25.640 he has kept a lot of items over all of 2082 01:52:25.680 --> 01:52:28.079 these years. Some people just throw away all their stuff, 2083 01:52:28.079 --> 01:52:31.279 their memorabilia and everything they didn't know like these days, 2084 01:52:31.279 --> 01:52:33.239 they can make so much money off that stuff. So 2085 01:52:33.279 --> 01:52:36.600 imagine all the guys with their gear and old belts 2086 01:52:36.640 --> 01:52:38.880 and all kinds of stuff that they could have held 2087 01:52:38.920 --> 01:52:40.680 on too. They could have made a fucking fortune off 2088 01:52:40.720 --> 01:52:43.680 that stuff. So many of that stuff has lost the time, 2089 01:52:43.720 --> 01:52:45.960 and so many of that stuff was thrown away. It's 2090 01:52:46.000 --> 01:52:49.039 like those promoters that and I think Jerry Jerry used 2091 01:52:49.039 --> 01:52:51.880 to do this, these promoters that would tape their weekly 2092 01:52:52.079 --> 01:52:55.439 shows like in their territory and use those same tapes 2093 01:52:55.479 --> 01:52:57.840 to just record over the old shows to tape the 2094 01:52:57.840 --> 01:53:00.920 new ones. So a lot of those are not available 2095 01:53:00.960 --> 01:53:03.600 anymore now. If they would have had the foresight to 2096 01:53:03.640 --> 01:53:05.079 know that one day they'd be able to make a 2097 01:53:05.119 --> 01:53:07.159 lot of money off those tapes, they wouldn't have recorded 2098 01:53:07.199 --> 01:53:10.600 over them. Well, Gerald Briscoe he kept a lot of 2099 01:53:10.600 --> 01:53:15.399 his stuff from over the years, old programs, magazines, run sheets, 2100 01:53:15.800 --> 01:53:18.880 that sort of thing, and over the past week or 2101 01:53:18.920 --> 01:53:20.960 so he's been posting a lot of it on his 2102 01:53:21.039 --> 01:53:23.439 Twitter page. Not that he's giving it away. He just 2103 01:53:23.520 --> 01:53:26.319 posting pictures of it. His handle, by the way, is 2104 01:53:26.359 --> 01:53:29.119 at FG Briscoe if you want to go follow him. 2105 01:53:29.560 --> 01:53:31.479 And there were a few things that jumped out at 2106 01:53:31.520 --> 01:53:33.800 me that I thought I would share because you may 2107 01:53:33.840 --> 01:53:35.279 find this as interesting as I do. 2108 01:53:36.079 --> 01:53:36.159 So. 2109 01:53:36.359 --> 01:53:40.720 For instance, he posted a letter sent by Vince McMahon 2110 01:53:41.000 --> 01:53:45.760 to all company talent, dated January fourth, nineteen eighty five. 2111 01:53:45.840 --> 01:53:48.000 This was just two months before the first Wrestle Medium 2112 01:53:49.159 --> 01:53:54.760 and it reads as follows. As was last year's custom, 2113 01:53:55.359 --> 01:53:59.000 all wrestlers and managers that work under the WWF banner 2114 01:53:59.479 --> 01:54:03.239 are required to sign contracts. Those of you who were 2115 01:54:03.239 --> 01:54:06.560 with us last year have obviously suffered no ill effects 2116 01:54:06.560 --> 01:54:10.720 of such signing. As has been customed for three generations, 2117 01:54:11.159 --> 01:54:15.079 this office has maintained an acute sense of fairness and integrity. 2118 01:54:15.960 --> 01:54:18.640 Since all of you have had ample opportunity to review 2119 01:54:18.720 --> 01:54:23.199 our standard contract, we must ask for immediate acceptance or rejection. 2120 01:54:23.840 --> 01:54:26.359 Those of you rejecting the contract will be deemed to 2121 01:54:26.399 --> 01:54:29.000 have given this office a four week notice of leaving. 2122 01:54:29.800 --> 01:54:33.600 Those of you accepting the contract will undoubtedly live happily 2123 01:54:33.680 --> 01:54:38.359 ever after along with me in Fairyland. Remember that today 2124 01:54:38.479 --> 01:54:42.680 is just another day in Paradise. Please return the signed 2125 01:54:42.680 --> 01:54:47.199 contract signifying your acceptance or the unsigned contract signifying rejection, 2126 01:54:47.399 --> 01:54:50.960 and notice to the appropriate agent tonight, who will issue 2127 01:54:51.079 --> 01:54:56.960 last week's paycheck. This office has maintained an acute sense 2128 01:54:57.039 --> 01:55:01.680 of fairness and integrity. I wonder if Wendy Richter felt 2129 01:55:01.720 --> 01:55:05.439 that way the previous year. I love that if you 2130 01:55:05.520 --> 01:55:09.000 signed the contract, you will undoubtedly live happily ever after 2131 01:55:09.159 --> 01:55:13.119 with me in Fairyland. You'd have to be living in 2132 01:55:13.199 --> 01:55:16.880 fairyland to believe that. But if you were someone who 2133 01:55:16.920 --> 01:55:20.119 rejected the contract and then WrestleMania happened two months later, 2134 01:55:21.159 --> 01:55:22.760 I could see how that might have ended up being 2135 01:55:22.800 --> 01:55:28.560 a bad business decision. So then he posted a WrestleMania 2136 01:55:28.720 --> 01:55:33.560 four sheet with the tournament bracket for the World Championship tournament, 2137 01:55:34.159 --> 01:55:36.640 and like at the top, it's got contact information for 2138 01:55:36.680 --> 01:55:39.199 their director of media relations at the time, and it's 2139 01:55:39.239 --> 01:55:43.319 got a contact for the public relations manager for Trump Plaza. 2140 01:55:44.880 --> 01:55:47.239 All the names on the sheet are printed for the 2141 01:55:47.239 --> 01:55:49.840 opening round right in the bracket. Plus you have Hogan 2142 01:55:49.880 --> 01:55:52.760 against Andre in the quarterfinal round because those two got 2143 01:55:52.760 --> 01:55:56.560 an automatic buy into the next round. And Brisco wrote 2144 01:55:56.600 --> 01:56:01.439 in pencil the results or the planned result of the tournament. 2145 01:56:02.199 --> 01:56:04.960 So you can see where he wrote in like Elsewhere 2146 01:56:04.960 --> 01:56:06.720 on the sheet he wrote in like six man tag 2147 01:56:06.800 --> 01:56:08.760 with the Bulldogs and the Islanders, and he wrote in 2148 01:56:09.039 --> 01:56:11.640 icy title match with Honky tonk Man and Brutus Beefcake. 2149 01:56:12.119 --> 01:56:15.479 In the tournament bracket itself, above each opening round match, 2150 01:56:15.520 --> 01:56:18.079 he wrote in I assumed this was before it even happened, 2151 01:56:18.479 --> 01:56:22.000 what the planned finish, what the planned result was gonna be, 2152 01:56:22.039 --> 01:56:26.199 So he wrote in like pin DQ, and he wrote 2153 01:56:26.239 --> 01:56:29.600 in the results to each subsequent round. And what caught 2154 01:56:29.640 --> 01:56:31.520 my eye about this was when he gets to the 2155 01:56:31.600 --> 01:56:35.279 Ricky steamboaug Greg Valentine match. The winner of that match, 2156 01:56:35.680 --> 01:56:39.560 which ended up being Greg Valentine, met macho man Randy 2157 01:56:39.600 --> 01:56:42.840 Savage in the next round, and it was such a 2158 01:56:42.840 --> 01:56:46.680 missed opportunity to run that match back Savage and Steamboat, 2159 01:56:46.720 --> 01:56:49.600 this time with Savage going over. All of the matches 2160 01:56:49.640 --> 01:56:51.239 in the tournament were very short though, I mean, so 2161 01:56:51.239 --> 01:56:53.399 they wouldn't have gotten the time that they had at 2162 01:56:53.399 --> 01:56:55.560 WrestleMania three to go out there and have a classic 2163 01:56:55.640 --> 01:56:58.319 or anything, but Savage Steamboat would have been a hell 2164 01:56:58.319 --> 01:57:00.159 of a lot better than Savage and Valentine. I'm not 2165 01:57:00.199 --> 01:57:02.319 saying Valentine was a bad wrestler, but I'm just saying 2166 01:57:02.680 --> 01:57:05.880 Savage and Steamboat sounds much more attractive as a match. 2167 01:57:07.039 --> 01:57:10.279 But he wrote Steamboat's name in as the one advancing 2168 01:57:10.319 --> 01:57:12.720 to the next round, only to cross it out, and 2169 01:57:12.760 --> 01:57:16.840 he wrote Greg in right above his name, which means 2170 01:57:16.880 --> 01:57:20.560 that the original plan may well have been for Steamboat 2171 01:57:20.600 --> 01:57:23.239 to advance to the next round to face Savage. I 2172 01:57:23.279 --> 01:57:27.680 never knew that, so I wonder what changed unless this 2173 01:57:27.800 --> 01:57:30.560 was just Brisco fantasy booking his own tournament and then 2174 01:57:30.680 --> 01:57:33.319 as it played out, he simply crossed out the wrong 2175 01:57:33.399 --> 01:57:35.479 results and wrote the right ones in. But I'm just 2176 01:57:36.000 --> 01:57:37.520 in the role that he would have been in behind 2177 01:57:37.520 --> 01:57:39.800 the scenes at the time. I would imagine in his position, 2178 01:57:40.239 --> 01:57:42.039 he would have known what the plan was and he 2179 01:57:42.119 --> 01:57:46.359 filled out the bracket accordingly. But it's interesting to think 2180 01:57:46.399 --> 01:57:48.680 that Ricky may have been planned to win that match, 2181 01:57:49.199 --> 01:57:52.600 and maybe that day it got changed right, which is 2182 01:57:52.640 --> 01:57:56.600 too bad. He also wrote Bam Bam Bigelow in into 2183 01:57:56.600 --> 01:57:58.560 the next round with a win over one man Gang 2184 01:57:58.560 --> 01:58:01.680 in the opener, but Gang up winning that match, and 2185 01:58:01.720 --> 01:58:04.359 so Bam Bam is crossed out in the next round, 2186 01:58:05.000 --> 01:58:08.199 and he wrote Gang above his name. And he also 2187 01:58:08.239 --> 01:58:10.600 had Rick Rud going over on Jake the Snake Roberts. 2188 01:58:10.640 --> 01:58:12.760 So it would have been Rick Rude against Bambam in 2189 01:58:12.800 --> 01:58:15.640 the next round, Rude going over and wrestling Randy Savage 2190 01:58:15.640 --> 01:58:18.800 in the semi finals, and then Savage wins, and we 2191 01:58:18.840 --> 01:58:22.199 get what we got with Savage against Dbiasse in the final. 2192 01:58:22.479 --> 01:58:25.239 So we could have had Randy Savage against Ricky Steamboat 2193 01:58:25.319 --> 01:58:28.239 and Randy Savage against Rick Rud in the tournament on 2194 01:58:28.279 --> 01:58:31.840 the same night. According to this, that would have made 2195 01:58:31.880 --> 01:58:35.039 for a better tournament. But again there were there were 2196 01:58:35.039 --> 01:58:37.279 so many matches because they did the entire thing in 2197 01:58:37.319 --> 01:58:41.640 one night. It's, you know, sixteen man bracket. It's not 2198 01:58:41.720 --> 01:58:43.439 as if they would have gotten a whole lot of time. 2199 01:58:44.600 --> 01:58:46.840 But it's fascinating to see what the original plan may 2200 01:58:46.880 --> 01:58:50.520 have been here. And he also shared I mean, he 2201 01:58:50.560 --> 01:58:52.800 shared like so many things, but this is the last 2202 01:58:52.800 --> 01:58:56.399 one I'll mention here. He shared a newspaper clipping from 2203 01:58:56.439 --> 01:59:00.960 the Tampa Tribune dated New Year's Day nineteen ninety one, 2204 01:59:01.479 --> 01:59:08.319 in a story titled drug charges fell Wrestling manager says 2205 01:59:08.439 --> 01:59:12.239 Raymond Bobby the Brain heenan a manager with the World 2206 01:59:12.239 --> 01:59:16.319 Wrestling Federation, was arrested on drug charges Monday after passing 2207 01:59:16.359 --> 01:59:19.680 out a board of flight bound for Tampa International Airport. 2208 01:59:20.520 --> 01:59:24.479 Heenan of fifteen oh five Kyle Court in val Rico, 2209 01:59:24.640 --> 01:59:28.199 which that's very encourage you. They just put it all 2210 01:59:28.239 --> 01:59:31.960 out there. Here you go. You want to knock on 2211 01:59:32.000 --> 01:59:35.439 his door and say hello, there you go, says Heenan 2212 01:59:35.520 --> 01:59:39.319 was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, 2213 01:59:39.359 --> 01:59:42.319 according to an arrest affidavit. He was released from the 2214 01:59:42.399 --> 01:59:46.760 Hillsboro County Jail on three thousand dollars bail. The forty 2215 01:59:46.760 --> 01:59:49.520 six year old wrestler turn manager was a passenger on 2216 01:59:49.640 --> 01:59:53.079 Northwest Airlines flight four seventy five from Detroit that arrived 2217 01:59:53.119 --> 01:59:56.960 in Tampa at ten to fifty am, according to Lieutenant 2218 01:59:57.079 --> 02:00:01.800 James Klem of the Airport Police Department. Northwest spokeswoman Christy 2219 02:00:01.960 --> 02:00:05.039 Klapp said that Heenan passed out as the flight was 2220 02:00:05.039 --> 02:00:08.680 making its approach. The flight crew was unable to revive him, 2221 02:00:08.760 --> 02:00:13.520 so emergency crews were called before it landed. Heenan was 2222 02:00:13.560 --> 02:00:17.000 taken to Saint Joseph's Hospital after airport police and rescue 2223 02:00:17.000 --> 02:00:20.079 workers found him unconscious in his seat aboard the airliner. 2224 02:00:21.119 --> 02:00:23.560 At the hospital, he was still unconscious, so he kept 2225 02:00:23.600 --> 02:00:25.920 his bags for him while he was there, said Clem. 2226 02:00:26.720 --> 02:00:29.840 Doctors from Saint Joseph's then called airport police, asking them 2227 02:00:29.840 --> 02:00:32.319 to check Heenan's luggage for any medication that he may 2228 02:00:32.359 --> 02:00:35.039 have been taking. During the search, police found forty eight 2229 02:00:35.119 --> 02:00:40.079 grams of marijuana, two pipes containing marijuana residue, and a 2230 02:00:40.119 --> 02:00:43.800 pipe tool. After being treated and released from the hospital, 2231 02:00:43.840 --> 02:00:46.199 Heenan returned to the airport at three pm to pick 2232 02:00:46.279 --> 02:00:49.960 up his luggage. He was then arrested. Heenan wrestled and 2233 02:00:50.000 --> 02:00:53.359 managed in the American Wrestling Association in the nineteen seventies. 2234 02:00:53.359 --> 02:00:57.520 He retired, but he returned to manage wrestlers in the WWF. 2235 02:00:57.600 --> 02:01:00.279 Hospital officials would not say what Heenan, who who could 2236 02:01:00.319 --> 02:01:04.920 not be reached for comment, was treated for. I don't 2237 02:01:04.920 --> 02:01:08.079 think I ever knew about this story. In checking The 2238 02:01:08.119 --> 02:01:11.880 Observer from the following week in nineteen ninety one, this 2239 02:01:11.960 --> 02:01:15.520 is what Meltzer reported at the time. Bobby Heenan was 2240 02:01:15.600 --> 02:01:18.239 arrested on Tuesday, one day after he collapsed on an 2241 02:01:18.279 --> 02:01:22.319 airplane coming home for New Year's Heenan was coming home 2242 02:01:22.359 --> 02:01:25.439 to Tampa from Detroit when he passed out just as 2243 02:01:25.439 --> 02:01:28.640 the plane was landing. Airport. Police found him unconscious and 2244 02:01:28.720 --> 02:01:32.760 rushed him to Saint Joseph's Hospital with his heartbeat down 2245 02:01:32.840 --> 02:01:36.439 near thirty five beats per minute. The doctors asked police 2246 02:01:36.439 --> 02:01:39.159 to check his luggage, and they found forty eight grams 2247 02:01:39.159 --> 02:01:43.199 of marijuana and two pipes containing marijuana resin. After Heena 2248 02:01:43.279 --> 02:01:45.720 regained consciousness and was released from the hospital, he was 2249 02:01:45.800 --> 02:01:49.199 arrested where he went to when he went to claim 2250 02:01:49.239 --> 02:01:53.119 his baggage, and according to the story in the Tampa Tribune, 2251 02:01:53.159 --> 02:01:56.359 Heenan did not appear surprised and was very cooperative when 2252 02:01:56.399 --> 02:02:00.239 police arrested him and charged him. Heena went back on 2253 02:02:00.319 --> 02:02:03.760 tour without missing any scheduled appearances for a Thursday night 2254 02:02:03.800 --> 02:02:07.439 show in Tucson. Because of the storyline, and Heenan's current 2255 02:02:07.479 --> 02:02:09.720 house show program with Big Boss Man is that if 2256 02:02:09.720 --> 02:02:12.319 he fails to appear, he will be suspended for life 2257 02:02:12.960 --> 02:02:17.319 by the WWF. Heenan was not pulled from any shows immediately, 2258 02:02:17.840 --> 02:02:19.680 to the best of my knowledge, with the exception of 2259 02:02:19.720 --> 02:02:23.199 the Tampa Tribune newspaper, the incident did not make any 2260 02:02:23.239 --> 02:02:26.359 press until this past weekend when on Sunday went out 2261 02:02:26.399 --> 02:02:29.840 over the wires and was picked up in Monday newspapers 2262 02:02:29.880 --> 02:02:36.000 all over the country. I knew that Bobby smoked years 2263 02:02:36.079 --> 02:02:38.600 later because Jim Ross told the story on his podcast. 2264 02:02:38.680 --> 02:02:41.720 This was years ago about smoking weed with Bobby the 2265 02:02:41.720 --> 02:02:45.039 brain in the WWF because Bobby would get very upset. 2266 02:02:45.239 --> 02:02:49.720 You'll find this funny. Bobby apparently would get very upset 2267 02:02:49.800 --> 02:02:51.960 and worked up over some of the booking back then. 2268 02:02:52.000 --> 02:02:54.800 This would have been like his last year or two 2269 02:02:54.920 --> 02:02:58.279 in the company before he went to WCW. So he 2270 02:02:58.359 --> 02:03:00.560 was just announcing at that point. I have been doing 2271 02:03:00.600 --> 02:03:03.720 some producing backstage also, but he was announcing he wasn't 2272 02:03:03.720 --> 02:03:08.479 managing anymore. And Jr. Said that Bobby was old school, 2273 02:03:08.560 --> 02:03:10.800 so him having to make sense out of gimmicks like 2274 02:03:10.880 --> 02:03:13.760 repo man and then go out and talk about them 2275 02:03:13.760 --> 02:03:17.119 when they would do their voiceovers, it made them crazy, right, 2276 02:03:17.119 --> 02:03:20.680 They were just so ridiculous. So they had a code word, 2277 02:03:21.359 --> 02:03:24.279 which was or two words, I guess, which was chocolate cake. 2278 02:03:25.359 --> 02:03:28.119 And so when Bobby would ask if Jr's wife was 2279 02:03:28.159 --> 02:03:31.920 making some chocolate cake, he knew what he meant, and 2280 02:03:31.960 --> 02:03:34.600 they would go off to go smoke and calm down 2281 02:03:34.640 --> 02:03:37.399 before they did their voiceovers for Wrestling Challenge or whatever 2282 02:03:37.439 --> 02:03:40.039 show they were doing. Because back then you couldn't smoke 2283 02:03:40.079 --> 02:03:44.159 marijuana like it was. It was absolutely prohibited. You would 2284 02:03:44.199 --> 02:03:47.239 get fined, you could get suspended. They had all the 2285 02:03:47.239 --> 02:03:49.279 heat on them from the steroid stuff and everything, and 2286 02:03:49.319 --> 02:03:50.960 they had that. They had a drug policy back in 2287 02:03:50.960 --> 02:03:54.359 the late eighties for you know, for cocaine because it 2288 02:03:54.399 --> 02:03:57.039 was just so out of control. But they would not 2289 02:03:57.199 --> 02:04:00.319 let the boys, you know, smoke marijuana. Would is not 2290 02:04:00.319 --> 02:04:01.880 to say that they didn't, but if you got caught 2291 02:04:01.880 --> 02:04:05.000 with it, you would you get in trouble. And that's 2292 02:04:05.039 --> 02:04:07.279 probably what drove a lot of them to drink. And 2293 02:04:07.359 --> 02:04:10.279 so now they're taking pills in their drinking, whereas if 2294 02:04:10.319 --> 02:04:12.439 they were smoking marijuana. It makes you wonder how many 2295 02:04:12.439 --> 02:04:15.079 of those wrestlers might still be alive today. But that 2296 02:04:15.199 --> 02:04:17.039 was the policy back then. I think Brett Hart has 2297 02:04:17.039 --> 02:04:19.680 talked about that too. How oh, you can't smoke weed 2298 02:04:19.720 --> 02:04:22.359 because he also smoked weed. Can't smoke weed? And so 2299 02:04:22.439 --> 02:04:25.199 what did the boys do? They did more drinking, right 2300 02:04:25.319 --> 02:04:28.199 or if they didn't drink, now they drank and you know, 2301 02:04:28.880 --> 02:04:32.640 drinking and taking pills is not a good combination. But 2302 02:04:32.720 --> 02:04:35.399 there you go. If you didn't know, now you know Jr. 2303 02:04:35.439 --> 02:04:38.840 And Bobby Heenan. I almost set a safe word. Holy shit, 2304 02:04:38.920 --> 02:04:41.680 now they had a secret Oh my god, they had 2305 02:04:41.680 --> 02:04:45.520 a secret code. Work Jesus. They had a secret code word, 2306 02:04:46.720 --> 02:04:50.039 which is very different from a safe word. Let's move on, 2307 02:04:50.119 --> 02:04:52.159 shall we We have some mail bag Let's do that. 2308 02:04:52.279 --> 02:04:54.760 Let's do some mail bag questions and forget all about this. 2309 02:04:55.000 --> 02:04:58.159 You could email me the Solemn Monster at gmail dot com. 2310 02:04:58.199 --> 02:05:00.239 Please include your name, but where you are from you 2311 02:05:00.239 --> 02:05:04.359 write in let's get through this here. David from Chicago. 2312 02:05:04.439 --> 02:05:08.199 I have a question, he says, regarding AW. Do you 2313 02:05:08.239 --> 02:05:10.560 think it's too late for AEW to get back to 2314 02:05:10.600 --> 02:05:13.840 the way they were before. I'm noticing that it's getting 2315 02:05:13.880 --> 02:05:19.000 cool to hate AW. Yeah, I mean it's cool if 2316 02:05:19.039 --> 02:05:22.479 you're a geek on Twitter. I don't think it's cool 2317 02:05:22.520 --> 02:05:26.239 to just blindly hate on anything. Like if you want 2318 02:05:26.279 --> 02:05:28.680 to hate on something because it legitimately sucks and you 2319 02:05:28.720 --> 02:05:32.520 didn't like it, then go ahead speak your mind. If 2320 02:05:32.520 --> 02:05:35.880 you think it sucks, then say so. And if it's great, 2321 02:05:36.039 --> 02:05:39.680 then say so. If they need to. I think AW 2322 02:05:39.800 --> 02:05:42.000 needs to worry less about getting back to twenty twenty 2323 02:05:42.000 --> 02:05:46.600 one and just put out a compelling, exciting product. And 2324 02:05:46.640 --> 02:05:50.920 you know what, it's never too late for that. Kenny 2325 02:05:50.920 --> 02:05:55.079 from Cottontown, Tennessee. I know this feels way too early 2326 02:05:55.119 --> 02:05:58.199 to speculate, but where do you rank Ricky Stark's debut 2327 02:05:58.279 --> 02:06:03.039 appearance on NXT in terms of surprise wrestler debuts. I 2328 02:06:03.079 --> 02:06:06.399 know it will never beat Scott Hall's surprise appearance on 2329 02:06:06.520 --> 02:06:09.600 NITRO nearly three decades ago, but considering how quick he 2330 02:06:09.680 --> 02:06:11.920 happened to show up as soon as he was released 2331 02:06:11.920 --> 02:06:15.720 from AW, it was an amazing appearance for sure. I 2332 02:06:15.760 --> 02:06:20.239 also put brock Lesnar's WWE television debut in Sting's WWE 2333 02:06:20.239 --> 02:06:24.640 and AW debuts in the same category as shocks surprises, 2334 02:06:24.760 --> 02:06:30.079 as well as John Moxley's AW debut in the same conversation, Kenny, 2335 02:06:30.359 --> 02:06:33.840 I love you, brother. They're not even in the same stratosphere. 2336 02:06:34.600 --> 02:06:37.159 And I like Ricky Starks and I'm glad that he 2337 02:06:37.359 --> 02:06:40.760 got his release and he finally made it to WWE, 2338 02:06:40.760 --> 02:06:43.520 which is where he's obviously wanted to be. Like, that's 2339 02:06:43.560 --> 02:06:45.600 great and all, and there, look, there were a lot 2340 02:06:45.600 --> 02:06:48.680 of people in the audience who were genuinely shocked to 2341 02:06:48.720 --> 02:06:54.520 see him in the crowd on Tuesday. The Ricky Starks 2342 02:06:54.560 --> 02:06:56.880 debut doesn't compare to any of the ones you just mentioned. 2343 02:06:58.079 --> 02:07:03.000 Like again, it's not even in the same coma. Kevin 2344 02:07:03.000 --> 02:07:06.920 from Washington, DC. Something tells me that John Cena is 2345 02:07:07.039 --> 02:07:09.760 not going to win the Elimination Chamber and instead will 2346 02:07:09.760 --> 02:07:12.920 be eliminated by Logan Paul and setting them up one 2347 02:07:12.920 --> 02:07:16.159 on one. It sucks as seen as last media match, 2348 02:07:16.199 --> 02:07:18.359 but they want Logan Paul to face a big name 2349 02:07:18.399 --> 02:07:20.239 and I don't see any other baby face on Raw 2350 02:07:20.319 --> 02:07:23.560 right now. That being said, I think Drew Well, I 2351 02:07:23.600 --> 02:07:27.479 just named one earlier, I said aj Styles. That being said, 2352 02:07:27.479 --> 02:07:29.840 I think Drew McIntyre is going to win. That way, 2353 02:07:30.000 --> 02:07:32.520 Paul and McIntyre have a path to the Big Show. 2354 02:07:33.079 --> 02:07:38.000 Do you feel this idea is plausible Logan Paul against 2355 02:07:38.079 --> 02:07:42.319 John Cena. Yes, it's plausible. Drew McIntyre winning the Chamber 2356 02:07:42.359 --> 02:07:46.279 and challenging Cody for the title. No, I don't see 2357 02:07:46.319 --> 02:07:52.279 that happen. Dominic from Connecticut. Assuming the participants of the 2358 02:07:52.279 --> 02:07:57.479 Men's Elimination Chamber are John Cena, Cmpunk, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, 2359 02:07:57.560 --> 02:08:00.920 seth Rawlins, and Damian Priest. I think it is clear 2360 02:08:00.960 --> 02:08:03.239 that the Chamber will be the catalyst for all six 2361 02:08:03.279 --> 02:08:06.720 of these men's matches leading into WRESTLEMANE. While I had 2362 02:08:06.760 --> 02:08:09.359 originally thought we would get the official kickoff to Damien 2363 02:08:09.399 --> 02:08:12.560 and Drew's feud in the Chamber, with recent reports the 2364 02:08:12.640 --> 02:08:17.159 WWE is now reconsidering Drew's program. Perhaps instead we can 2365 02:08:17.159 --> 02:08:19.039 see the start to Drew and John Cena. 2366 02:08:19.119 --> 02:08:19.319 Here. 2367 02:08:19.880 --> 02:08:22.600 I can see Sena rolling up Drew for a quick elimination, 2368 02:08:22.720 --> 02:08:26.840 leading to Drew snapping and attacking Sena post elimination, possibly 2369 02:08:26.880 --> 02:08:30.199 even leading to Sena having to exit the match now 2370 02:08:30.239 --> 02:08:33.119 that Damien is no longer working Drew. Instead, they can 2371 02:08:33.239 --> 02:08:36.800 pivot to a feud but Logan Paul possibly using brass 2372 02:08:36.840 --> 02:08:41.039 knocks to eliminate Damien, launching their feud into WrestleMania. Both 2373 02:08:41.079 --> 02:08:43.039 their upper mid card workers, and while they may be 2374 02:08:43.119 --> 02:08:45.439 on opposite shows, WWE can make it work and I 2375 02:08:45.479 --> 02:08:48.079 think they could have a very good match. Logan is 2376 02:08:48.079 --> 02:08:51.239 then eliminated by Punk getting his revenge for the Logan 2377 02:08:51.760 --> 02:08:53.640 for Logan tossing him out of the Rumble, and the 2378 02:08:53.680 --> 02:08:57.560 final two are seth Rawlins, and Cmpunk. Roman then makes 2379 02:08:57.560 --> 02:09:00.760 a surprise return and spears Rollins call him the match, 2380 02:09:00.760 --> 02:09:02.960 and Punk wins the Chamber, and then it's revealed the 2381 02:09:03.039 --> 02:09:06.640 favor was having Hayman instruck Roman to interfere in the 2382 02:09:06.680 --> 02:09:12.960 match and assure that Punk's ashore Punk's victory in the chamber. Eh, 2383 02:09:13.439 --> 02:09:15.800 you lost me there. Therefore, coming out of this, we 2384 02:09:15.840 --> 02:09:18.760 have set up Logan against Damien, Drew against Sena, Seth 2385 02:09:18.800 --> 02:09:22.600 against Roman, and Punk against Cody at WrestleMania. What are 2386 02:09:22.640 --> 02:09:25.239 your thoughts? Yeah, I mean the Roman thing just it 2387 02:09:25.319 --> 02:09:27.479 still doesn't make any sense to me. I don't buy it. 2388 02:09:27.720 --> 02:09:31.079 I think that's a weak explanation. I think the other 2389 02:09:31.119 --> 02:09:34.000 things that you've set up here are are at least plausible. 2390 02:09:34.720 --> 02:09:37.399 You know, like Drew against Sena I think would be great, 2391 02:09:37.960 --> 02:09:40.840 Logan against Damien would be fine. Seth and Roman's fine. 2392 02:09:40.880 --> 02:09:44.720 Punkin Cody I have no problem with that. I mean, 2393 02:09:44.720 --> 02:09:48.960 I'd rather see punkin Cody than Sena and Cody. I 2394 02:09:49.000 --> 02:09:52.760 don't see any of this happening. I mean, Seth and Roman, 2395 02:09:52.920 --> 02:09:55.079 there'll be some form of Seth and Roman at many 2396 02:09:55.079 --> 02:09:56.880 of the other stuff. I don't see any of this happening. 2397 02:09:56.920 --> 02:10:00.680 But yeah, you lost me at the Roman explanation, you know, 2398 02:10:00.760 --> 02:10:04.840 coming into the chamber and helping Punk and that being 2399 02:10:04.880 --> 02:10:06.399 the favorite, it would just feel like a waste of 2400 02:10:06.439 --> 02:10:10.640 a favor. I feel like, like, why would Punk instruct 2401 02:10:10.640 --> 02:10:13.239 Hayman like he thinks so little of his ability to 2402 02:10:13.279 --> 02:10:16.600 win the elimination Chamber that he instructs Roman Reigns to 2403 02:10:16.680 --> 02:10:18.960 interfere in a match where, by the way, no one 2404 02:10:19.039 --> 02:10:21.000 is supposed to be able to get inside. I mean, 2405 02:10:21.039 --> 02:10:26.079 I know people do like to waste the favor on that, Like, No, 2406 02:10:26.239 --> 02:10:31.279 I don't. I don't like that at all. Uh Kobe 2407 02:10:31.880 --> 02:10:35.000 from Dothan, Alabama with an idea on how to spice 2408 02:10:35.079 --> 02:10:38.880 up the Royal Rumble. How would you feel about WWE 2409 02:10:38.920 --> 02:10:41.520 bringing back the lottery with the ball roller for the 2410 02:10:41.600 --> 02:10:44.760 Royal Rumble, except they bring it back in the weeks 2411 02:10:44.840 --> 02:10:47.520 leading up to the Rumble. They can have the obvious 2412 02:10:47.560 --> 02:10:50.159 big names draw their spots, but they can have other 2413 02:10:50.239 --> 02:10:55.119 contenders trade or make deals for the spot in the Rumble. 2414 02:10:55.239 --> 02:10:58.840 Some can offer promises or other incentives such as title 2415 02:10:58.840 --> 02:11:01.680 shots if they are a mid tier champion to trade 2416 02:11:02.439 --> 02:11:04.880 or get their entry number. They can treat it like 2417 02:11:04.920 --> 02:11:08.439 how teams trade up in sports drafts. Someone could draw 2418 02:11:08.520 --> 02:11:10.520 number thirty in advance of the rumble, but there's no 2419 02:11:10.640 --> 02:11:13.520 guarantee that someone like the Rock wouldn't come in and 2420 02:11:13.560 --> 02:11:16.359 offer them a deal where they get or where they 2421 02:11:16.439 --> 02:11:19.560 give up their entry completely. It would still give you 2422 02:11:19.600 --> 02:11:24.079 the mystery on if anyone drew their number would actually 2423 02:11:24.199 --> 02:11:26.960 keep their entry. It would be a lot more entertaining 2424 02:11:27.000 --> 02:11:29.680 than people just declaring themselves for the rumble or saying 2425 02:11:29.680 --> 02:11:32.279 that they're going to win. It can have people running 2426 02:11:32.279 --> 02:11:34.760 around making deals with everyone to add a little more 2427 02:11:34.760 --> 02:11:38.319 mystery into what was traded to get such a good spot. 2428 02:11:39.600 --> 02:11:45.199 You know, that's actually a very creative spin on the roller, 2429 02:11:46.039 --> 02:11:50.319 And I don't hate the idea, especially if you keep 2430 02:11:50.479 --> 02:11:52.720 I wouldn't want to know who number thirty is going 2431 02:11:52.800 --> 02:11:55.640 to be, so like I would still want there to 2432 02:11:55.680 --> 02:11:59.039 be some mystery behind who's in some of these spots. 2433 02:11:59.079 --> 02:12:01.680 But the idea that I remember it was either the 2434 02:12:01.680 --> 02:12:03.920 first or the second. I think I think it might 2435 02:12:03.920 --> 02:12:06.680 have been the second Rumble, but it was a Royal 2436 02:12:06.800 --> 02:12:09.520 rumble where DEBIASI drew a poor number because they did 2437 02:12:09.520 --> 02:12:11.720 the roller. Even back then, in eighty eight or eighty nine, 2438 02:12:11.920 --> 02:12:14.760 they were doing the roller and he picks his ball 2439 02:12:14.840 --> 02:12:17.399 and he looks and he was not happy about his number, 2440 02:12:18.199 --> 02:12:20.159 and so he went off with somebody else who drew 2441 02:12:20.199 --> 02:12:23.720 a better number, and then ultimately, you know, DEBIASI came 2442 02:12:23.760 --> 02:12:27.399 out I think at number thirty. So like, that's the concept. 2443 02:12:27.640 --> 02:12:31.680 I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. It would 2444 02:12:31.680 --> 02:12:33.640 make things a little more interesting. I think going into 2445 02:12:33.640 --> 02:12:39.000 the rumble Dak from Saint Paul, Minnesota, who says he 2446 02:12:39.039 --> 02:12:41.640 is in the process of losing his voice similar to 2447 02:12:41.640 --> 02:12:45.560 what I recently dealt with. So I'm sorry to hear that. Brother, 2448 02:12:46.279 --> 02:12:48.399 You'll get yours back quicker, so long as you're not 2449 02:12:48.479 --> 02:12:51.800 doing six shows a week like I do, so feel better. 2450 02:12:52.760 --> 02:12:55.600 What do you think is the greatest wrestling character created 2451 02:12:55.600 --> 02:12:58.800 that Vince McMahon had no hand in creating. I say 2452 02:12:58.800 --> 02:13:01.279 that because when you add in Vic, the answer is 2453 02:13:01.319 --> 02:13:06.960 obviously the undertake. Well, yeah, obviously, and Kane Cain would 2454 02:13:06.960 --> 02:13:08.600 have been the second one that I would have gone with. 2455 02:13:09.920 --> 02:13:13.479 You take Vince out of the equation, I think Big 2456 02:13:13.600 --> 02:13:17.239 Van Vader, which was the brainschild of Antonio Andoki. I 2457 02:13:17.640 --> 02:13:19.760 love that character. I think the look of it with 2458 02:13:19.880 --> 02:13:22.960 the helmet and the steam coming out of it, just 2459 02:13:23.319 --> 02:13:26.399 the whole visual of Vader and that whole character. I 2460 02:13:26.439 --> 02:13:29.960 would go with Big Van Vader. I think that you 2461 02:13:30.000 --> 02:13:34.720 could throw in some other ones like Liger, you know, 2462 02:13:34.800 --> 02:13:38.039 Jusi and thunder Liger. Great Muda has to be on 2463 02:13:38.079 --> 02:13:42.840 that list, but I'm gonna go Big Van Vader. Secondly, 2464 02:13:43.039 --> 02:13:47.279 since you believe Mariah May will win in Australia and 2465 02:13:47.319 --> 02:13:49.960 we can forget about that, what if Tony Khan has 2466 02:13:50.039 --> 02:13:52.800 Mercedes lose to Harley Cameron to give the crowd the 2467 02:13:52.800 --> 02:13:56.039 hometown winner. You can have Mercedes move on to the 2468 02:13:56.039 --> 02:13:59.560 world title picture. Harley holds the TBS title for a 2469 02:13:59.600 --> 02:14:03.039 few weeks before losing it to Meghan Bain. She can 2470 02:14:03.079 --> 02:14:05.479 be a big star for aw's women's division, and this 2471 02:14:05.520 --> 02:14:07.920 could be a good way to showcase her, similar to 2472 02:14:07.920 --> 02:14:10.960 what they did with Jade as the TBS champion. Well, 2473 02:14:11.000 --> 02:14:15.159 obviously Mariah May did not win in Australia and I 2474 02:14:15.199 --> 02:14:17.720 would not have done it this way. Meghan Bain just 2475 02:14:18.119 --> 02:14:22.800 debuted like she is just now entering her very first 2476 02:14:22.920 --> 02:14:25.800 program with Chris Statlander. They're going to have a match soon, 2477 02:14:26.479 --> 02:14:29.880 maybe at Revolution. There's no need to rush a title 2478 02:14:29.920 --> 02:14:33.560 onto her. And I said what I said earlier about Harley. 2479 02:14:33.920 --> 02:14:35.520 I don't think putting the title on her for a 2480 02:14:35.560 --> 02:14:38.520 few weeks would have done her any more good than 2481 02:14:38.600 --> 02:14:40.399 the good that was done by just putting her in 2482 02:14:40.439 --> 02:14:43.039 a serious match and having a good match with Mercedes, 2483 02:14:43.079 --> 02:14:47.000 which she did. I think it accomplishes exactly the same 2484 02:14:47.000 --> 02:14:52.359 thing without having to change the title. William from Calgary, 2485 02:14:52.439 --> 02:14:55.520 my question for you is the WWF King of the 2486 02:14:55.600 --> 02:14:58.000 Ring Championship belt. I saw a photo on the internet, 2487 02:14:58.000 --> 02:14:59.800 but I never recalled the belt ever being used on 2488 02:14:59.800 --> 02:15:03.439 TA or pay per view. Do you have any backstory 2489 02:15:03.800 --> 02:15:05.920 on why the King of the Ring belt never debuted 2490 02:15:05.960 --> 02:15:09.439 and who the belt was originally for. Well, it's a 2491 02:15:09.439 --> 02:15:11.560 good thing you've come to the beltmark here because I 2492 02:15:11.600 --> 02:15:14.399 actually do know the answer to this. It was never 2493 02:15:14.560 --> 02:15:17.600 used because it wasn't WWE that had the belt made. 2494 02:15:18.159 --> 02:15:22.479 That was Mabel. Mabel personally went and had the belt made. 2495 02:15:22.479 --> 02:15:24.199 He paid for it. That was all him. That was 2496 02:15:24.239 --> 02:15:27.520 in ninety six. After they let him go. Mabel won 2497 02:15:27.560 --> 02:15:29.720 the King of the Ring in ninety five. That ended 2498 02:15:29.800 --> 02:15:31.640 up being his big claim to fame in his career 2499 02:15:31.760 --> 02:15:35.239 was being King Mabel. So after they fired him, he 2500 02:15:35.760 --> 02:15:39.079 personally reached out to Reggie Parks about creating a King 2501 02:15:39.119 --> 02:15:41.279 of the Ring belt that he could use on the indies. 2502 02:15:42.199 --> 02:15:44.079 And I don't think it was Reggie who made the belt. 2503 02:15:44.079 --> 02:15:47.000 It might have been Dave Millikan, but they made the belt. 2504 02:15:47.119 --> 02:15:48.680 And if you look at the photo of the belt, 2505 02:15:48.720 --> 02:15:52.199 if you look closely, it's got the WWF letters on it, 2506 02:15:52.239 --> 02:15:55.239 but it's not the logo because he didn't have the 2507 02:15:55.319 --> 02:15:59.199 rights to use their logo because it wasn't a company belt. 2508 02:16:00.119 --> 02:16:01.680 And I'm glad it wasn't. I mean, the King of 2509 02:16:01.720 --> 02:16:04.399 the Ring winner does not need a championship belt, but 2510 02:16:04.479 --> 02:16:07.720 this thing was fucking huge. So he had the belt 2511 02:16:07.720 --> 02:16:09.640 made and he took it around with him on the 2512 02:16:09.640 --> 02:16:14.600 indies and he would charge for photos with it. William 2513 02:16:14.840 --> 02:16:17.479 from New Jersey, big fan of your podcast. Since I 2514 02:16:17.520 --> 02:16:23.159 stopped watching WWE in twenty fifteen, I unfortunately was at 2515 02:16:23.159 --> 02:16:25.680 that Royal Rumble when Roman won and Rock tried to 2516 02:16:25.680 --> 02:16:29.079 get him cheered. Man, that killed my spirit to where 2517 02:16:29.119 --> 02:16:32.200 I stuck with indies for a long time. So thank 2518 02:16:32.239 --> 02:16:34.319 you for sticking around for this long. You were more 2519 02:16:34.319 --> 02:16:37.520 honest and reliable to listen to. One of my friends 2520 02:16:37.600 --> 02:16:41.559 asked if I knew about Wrestling Society X, MTV's attempt 2521 02:16:42.040 --> 02:16:45.079 at doing a wrestling show that only lasted ten episodes, 2522 02:16:45.639 --> 02:16:48.319 although only four of them actually aired due to the 2523 02:16:48.360 --> 02:16:52.280 network finding it too violent, as if their network hasn't 2524 02:16:52.280 --> 02:16:56.600 aired violent stuff before on Jackass and Celebrity Deathmatch. I 2525 02:16:56.680 --> 02:16:59.040 have the DVD and I watched it again recently, and 2526 02:16:59.120 --> 02:17:02.200 I find it the most bizarre wrestling show that I've 2527 02:17:02.239 --> 02:17:05.719 ever seen, but not a terrible one. Have you seen 2528 02:17:05.959 --> 02:17:10.000 MTV's Wrestling Society X. Would the show have lasted longer 2529 02:17:10.040 --> 02:17:13.639 if it wasn't thirty minutes and aired online instead of 2530 02:17:13.719 --> 02:17:18.879 on television. I do remember it. I remember another one too, 2531 02:17:19.000 --> 02:17:22.920 called Matt Rats, although I don't think they had TV 2532 02:17:22.959 --> 02:17:25.479 for that one. I don't think that ever aired anywhere. 2533 02:17:25.680 --> 02:17:28.159 I know Eric Bischoff was involved with Matt Rats in 2534 02:17:28.200 --> 02:17:34.520 some way, either as an investor or a producer. Better 2535 02:17:34.559 --> 02:17:36.440 to call it Matt Rats, I guess, than Ring Rats, 2536 02:17:36.479 --> 02:17:40.120 but it never really went anywhere. Wrestling Society X aired 2537 02:17:40.159 --> 02:17:42.520 on MTV. Like he said, it didn't last very long, 2538 02:17:42.680 --> 02:17:44.479 and in some ways you know what it was. In 2539 02:17:44.520 --> 02:17:46.639 some ways it reminds me of now that I think 2540 02:17:46.680 --> 02:17:50.239 about this. It was a precursor in some ways to 2541 02:17:50.520 --> 02:17:55.120 Luca Underground, just it wasn't nearly as good. One thing 2542 02:17:55.159 --> 02:17:58.840 I remember about the show, I remember the explosions. They 2543 02:17:58.840 --> 02:18:03.479 had explosions, at least at least in one match with Vampiro. 2544 02:18:04.079 --> 02:18:06.799 I vaguely remember there being a casket. I don't know 2545 02:18:06.799 --> 02:18:10.040 who he was wrestling, and there was an explosion of 2546 02:18:10.079 --> 02:18:13.520 some kind. Do I think it would have done better 2547 02:18:13.600 --> 02:18:17.159 if it aired online instead of on TV? Back then? 2548 02:18:17.840 --> 02:18:24.159 Absolutely not. Today I'm gonna say still probably not. It 2549 02:18:24.159 --> 02:18:26.479 would have fared better a little bit because back then, 2550 02:18:26.559 --> 02:18:31.520 I mean streaming, I mean, did it even exist. I 2551 02:18:31.559 --> 02:18:34.440 still don't think it would have done that well. In 2552 02:18:34.479 --> 02:18:36.760 it being thirty minutes, it didn't help. I remember the 2553 02:18:36.840 --> 02:18:40.799 oh my god, those MTV commercial breaks. Good lord. I 2554 02:18:40.879 --> 02:18:44.120 used to watch Beavis and butt Heead on MTV and 2555 02:18:44.159 --> 02:18:48.040 they would go to commercial, and I swear I could 2556 02:18:48.040 --> 02:18:51.200 make a sandwich. I could go to the bathroom, answer 2557 02:18:51.280 --> 02:18:55.239 the doorbell, sign for a package, have a phone conversation 2558 02:18:55.319 --> 02:18:58.000 with someone. I could trip and fall. I could bandage 2559 02:18:58.000 --> 02:19:01.200 myself up and pour a dren to go with my sandwich, 2560 02:19:01.239 --> 02:19:03.040 and by the time I got back to my seat, 2561 02:19:03.120 --> 02:19:06.879 that show would still be on a fucking commercial. Those 2562 02:19:06.959 --> 02:19:10.559 ad breaks were brutal, So really it wasn't a half 2563 02:19:10.600 --> 02:19:12.680 hour show. It was closer to a twenty minute show. 2564 02:19:13.639 --> 02:19:17.079 And what can you even do in twenty minutes? You know, 2565 02:19:17.120 --> 02:19:20.319 you can't develop characters in twenty minutes. You could do 2566 02:19:20.399 --> 02:19:24.239 high spots and explosions. That's about it. But if you 2567 02:19:24.280 --> 02:19:26.239 watched it, I think you could see where I don't 2568 02:19:26.239 --> 02:19:29.319 want to say Luca Underground borrowed from Wrestling Society CX, 2569 02:19:29.319 --> 02:19:33.319 but you could see where Luca Underground took elements, not 2570 02:19:33.799 --> 02:19:37.120 directly from it, but like the way that they did 2571 02:19:37.120 --> 02:19:39.920 that show was very similar to some of the things 2572 02:19:39.920 --> 02:19:42.719 they were trying out on Wrestling Society Act. They took 2573 02:19:43.159 --> 02:19:45.799 what they tried to do and Luca Underground made it better. 2574 02:19:48.719 --> 02:19:51.000 James from Staten Island. Every once in a while, we 2575 02:19:51.040 --> 02:19:54.280 hear questions about dream matches like Hogan versus Austin or 2576 02:19:54.360 --> 02:19:57.280 Undertaker versus thing, But what about those dream matches that 2577 02:19:57.360 --> 02:20:00.600 don't get talked about? Fantasy matchups that what ever happened, 2578 02:20:00.600 --> 02:20:02.520 But when you think about them, probably would have been 2579 02:20:02.639 --> 02:20:05.559 very fun to watch. Buy or sell on the fantasy 2580 02:20:05.600 --> 02:20:07.799 matchup that you would have been most interested in seeing 2581 02:20:07.840 --> 02:20:11.200 the Road Warriors against the Dudley Boys or Samoa Joe 2582 02:20:11.360 --> 02:20:16.559 versus Brock Lesnar inside Helen a cell. Oh that's easy. 2583 02:20:16.600 --> 02:20:21.120 I mean Joe and Brock Helena Cell. They had one match. 2584 02:20:21.399 --> 02:20:23.879 It was like a six minute match. It was fucking great. 2585 02:20:24.840 --> 02:20:28.239 Take those two. Lock them in the cell. At least 2586 02:20:28.319 --> 02:20:33.799 double the match time. That's all I need. Good buy 2587 02:20:33.799 --> 02:20:37.959 on that one. Cell On the other and David from 2588 02:20:38.040 --> 02:20:42.360 Sacramento has put together some Be the Booker supercards in 2589 02:20:42.399 --> 02:20:45.040 the past. You've heard me talk about them. He combs 2590 02:20:45.079 --> 02:20:46.840 through all of the Be the Booker matches that I've 2591 02:20:46.840 --> 02:20:49.600 booked over the last few months on the various YouTube streams, 2592 02:20:50.159 --> 02:20:52.399 and then he comes to us after polling all of you. 2593 02:20:53.680 --> 02:20:55.520 I pined the polls in the chat the other night, 2594 02:20:56.399 --> 02:20:58.959 and we have the results of those polls for what 2595 02:20:59.040 --> 02:21:03.479 he is calling Alla Monsters Supercard ten. So he held 2596 02:21:03.479 --> 02:21:06.319 a poll with one hundred and thirteen matches to determine 2597 02:21:06.319 --> 02:21:09.840 the undercard, and a second poll to determine who would 2598 02:21:09.840 --> 02:21:13.079 win the first ever Sound of Rumble. And here's what 2599 02:21:13.159 --> 02:21:16.040 he came up with based on those results. With twenty 2600 02:21:16.120 --> 02:21:18.319 three percent of the votes for the Be the Booker 2601 02:21:18.360 --> 02:21:22.639 Tag Team titles rated Rko takes on the Shield, Seth 2602 02:21:22.719 --> 02:21:27.040 Rollins and Roman Reigns with sixteen percent of the votes 2603 02:21:27.399 --> 02:21:31.200 for the be the Booker World Heavyweight Championship, Kurt Angle 2604 02:21:31.319 --> 02:21:36.600 against Jeff Hardy with fifteen percent of the votes for 2605 02:21:36.799 --> 02:21:39.520 what he is calling the Hardy the Horse, Hardy the 2606 02:21:39.520 --> 02:21:47.159 Workhorse Championship, the Bruiserweight Pete Done against Johnny Gargano at 2607 02:21:47.159 --> 02:21:51.680 eleven percent of the votes. For the Mama Monster Championship, 2608 02:21:51.840 --> 02:21:57.639 Julia from her stardom run against Mako Sodamora. That reminds me, 2609 02:21:57.680 --> 02:22:01.120 I think, isn't Mako's having her retirement match in April? 2610 02:22:01.159 --> 02:22:04.319 I think I forgot all about that. So it's not 2611 02:22:04.399 --> 02:22:09.600 just Jeff Jarrett and John Cena this year, Mako sotomore 2612 02:22:12.040 --> 02:22:15.200 and the main event an unprecedented two hundred and forty 2613 02:22:15.239 --> 02:22:20.200 one men. That's a lot of rings. Two hundred and 2614 02:22:20.239 --> 02:22:23.959 forty one men. Sound off, rumble, I'm gonna I'm gonna 2615 02:22:24.040 --> 02:22:26.600 stick to the highlights here. Highlights include the final four, 2616 02:22:26.639 --> 02:22:30.000 he says the winner at thirty eight percent of the vote, 2617 02:22:30.079 --> 02:22:34.719 Brett the Hitman heart Well, of course, last eliminated at 2618 02:22:34.760 --> 02:22:40.760 twenty nine percent Kurt Angle at twenty seven percent, Stone Cold, 2619 02:22:40.760 --> 02:22:46.319 Steve Austin at fifteen percent, Drew McIntyre the Iron Man 2620 02:22:46.559 --> 02:22:50.239 is mister Perfect Unlucky. Number one and two is Sammy 2621 02:22:50.239 --> 02:22:54.040 Gevara and Dominic Mysterio. The diesel spot goes to Swerve 2622 02:22:54.079 --> 02:23:00.440 Strickland and Dan Housen curses Bob Backland and then he's 2623 02:23:00.479 --> 02:23:07.040 got manager madness here with all different kinds of managers. David, 2624 02:23:07.040 --> 02:23:10.520 I want to thank you for putting the time into this, 2625 02:23:10.680 --> 02:23:14.280 and everybody who voted David thanks you as well. It's 2626 02:23:14.280 --> 02:23:17.440 always quite the undertaking here, but I wanted to read 2627 02:23:17.479 --> 02:23:20.920 all of this so that you can visualize what such 2628 02:23:20.920 --> 02:23:25.559 a card might look like. Next week is going to 2629 02:23:25.559 --> 02:23:29.120 be episode nine oh two of The Sound nine o 2630 02:23:29.200 --> 02:23:31.479 two one zero of the Sound Off. We're going to 2631 02:23:31.520 --> 02:23:34.319 be doing Elimination Chamber predictions because next weekend is the 2632 02:23:34.360 --> 02:23:37.760 final weekend before the Chambers, so we'll probably do predictions 2633 02:23:37.760 --> 02:23:39.799 on that show. We'll cover all the news of the week, 2634 02:23:40.520 --> 02:23:42.799 the good, the bad, and the ugly, like we always do. 2635 02:23:43.159 --> 02:23:47.000 I want to thank you guys for all of the support, 2636 02:23:47.159 --> 02:23:49.600 for all of the emails, for all of the tweets, 2637 02:23:49.600 --> 02:23:53.040 for all of the interaction for all the nice comments. Hey, 2638 02:23:53.079 --> 02:23:55.719 you know Tuesday Night Titans. This week over on JD's channel, 2639 02:23:55.760 --> 02:23:59.959 we did What's Closing In on sixty thousand views, the 2640 02:24:00.120 --> 02:24:03.440 most successful episodes yet of TNT. Will be back at 2641 02:24:03.440 --> 02:24:05.479 it this Tuesday. I have a feeling we have a 2642 02:24:05.479 --> 02:24:09.120 difference of opinion on the NXT and AW show, so 2643 02:24:09.120 --> 02:24:11.079 that'll be coming up on Tuesday. I'm gonna be live 2644 02:24:11.120 --> 02:24:13.440 on YouTube of course on Monday night, Wednesday night, and 2645 02:24:13.520 --> 02:24:15.680 Friday night for all the usual streams, and then back 2646 02:24:15.760 --> 02:24:20.000 here next Sunday for episode nine oh two. So until then, 2647 02:24:20.120 --> 02:24:23.159 be well, stay safe, have yourselves a great week, and 2648 02:24:23.239 --> 02:24:25.200 I will see you back here for more sound off 2649 02:24:25.239 --> 02:24:31.079 next weekend, like every weekend until then, take care, guys. 2650 02:24:31.079 --> 02:24:34.200 The solemn Monster sounds off Valentine's Day. 2651 02:24:34.280 --> 02:24:36.520 It is, of course, the holiday where all of the 2652 02:24:36.559 --> 02:24:40.079 reading card companies and all the florists, all the chocolate companies, 2653 02:24:40.120 --> 02:24:42.239 they make a killing every single year, because that's just 2654 02:24:42.280 --> 02:24:44.319 the way it is. Somewhere along the line, it was 2655 02:24:44.360 --> 02:24:48.040 determined that this is what defines Valentine's Day. You buy flowers, 2656 02:24:48.079 --> 02:24:50.280 and you buy chocolate, You go out to em and 2657 02:24:50.360 --> 02:24:53.159 it's dinner. Ain't nothing wrong with taking taking your lady 2658 02:24:53.200 --> 02:24:55.600 friend out to dinner or whoever. But man, they make 2659 02:24:55.600 --> 02:24:57.360 a killing off this shit, and for what. So the 2660 02:24:57.399 --> 02:24:59.799 flowers could die a few days later and the chocolate's 2661 02:24:59.840 --> 02:25:02.879 get eaten, you gain six pounds. That's Valentine's Day. Hope 2662 02:25:02.920 --> 02:25:03.840 you get a good one. 2663 02:25:04.040 --> 02:25:08.479 The Solo Monster sounds off, bringing you the good, the bad, 2664 02:25:08.559 --> 02:25:11.639 and the ugly. Check out the weekly live streams bonus 2665 02:25:11.680 --> 02:25:15.360 content for subscribers, and follow The Solo Monster on Facebook, Instagram, 2666 02:25:15.440 --> 02:25:17.840 and X The Solo Monster. 2667 02:25:18.520 --> 02:25:19.639 I love you so long.