AJ Styles thinks Logan Paul should pay his dues | Raw Recap

Summary

Raw Recap with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant: AJ Styles Thinks Logan Paul Should Pay His Dues

Hosted by Sam Roberts and Megan Morant, Raw Recap with WWE Podcasts provides an in-depth analysis of the latest happenings on Monday Night Raw. In the March 11, 2025 episode titled "AJ Styles thinks Logan Paul should pay his dues," Sam and Megan delve into significant matches, surprising returns, and controversial guest appearances. This detailed summary captures the essence of their discussions, complete with notable quotes and timestamps.

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Introduction

Sam Roberts kicks off the episode from the Not Sam studio at Madison Square Garden, setting the stage for a night of intense wrestling action. "The tribal chief is back," he declares, highlighting the much-anticipated return of Roman Reigns. Megan Morant quickly echoes his excitement, stating, "And it was a classic."

Roman Reigns' Triumphant Return

At [02:20], Sam and Megan dissect Roman Reigns' dramatic entry during the steel cage match between Seth Rollins and CM Punk. Roman's unexpected assault on Rollins reignites his dominance in WWE, asserting his authority just 40 days before WrestleMania. Sam emphasizes, "Roman Reigns was coming from a place where it was, how dare you," underscoring the intensity of his comeback.

Megan adds, "40 days until WrestleMania. And we were wondering, how does the tribal chief make his way down this road to Las Vegas?" Their analysis highlights Roman's strategic moves to maintain his supremacy, ensuring he remains at the forefront of WWE storylines.

Steel Cage Showdown: Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk

The hosts delve deep into the electrifying steel cage match, praising its high stakes and numerous near-falls. Megan remarks at [07:59], "The steel cage match was just so beautiful," while Sam concurs, "it was one for the ages." They detail the intense back-and-forth action, including CM Punk’s strategic maneuvers and Seth Rollins' relentless tactics.

A pivotal moment discussed is Roman Reigns' intervention, where he decisively pulls Rollins out of the cage, leaving the outcome ambiguous. Sam observes, "Roman Reigns was coming from a place where it was, how dare you," suggesting Roman's motives extend beyond just defeating Rollins—they're part of a larger narrative leading to WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes: The New Gatekeeper

Transitioning to [22:17], Sam shifts focus to Cody Rhodes, positioning him as the new gatekeeper of WWE's top tier. "Cody Rhodes would tell you that it's him," Sam asserts, referencing Rhodes' burgeoning prominence. Megan highlights Cody's passionate speech at Madison Square Garden, where he declared, "I'm the captain now," signaling his refusal to back down in his pursuit of the WWE Championship.

Their conversation underscores Cody's evolution from a respectful champion to a fiercely determined leader, ready to defend his title against any challenger, including the likes of John Cena.

A.J. Styles Takes on Logan Paul

A significant portion of the episode centers on AJ Styles' candid interview with A.J., where he addresses the rising controversy surrounding Logan Paul’s entry into WWE. At [46:04], AJ Styles states, "Logan Paul has it, so we're going to find out how bad he wants it." He criticizes Paul's lack of traditional wrestling training, asserting, "Logan Paul has to pay his dues."

Sam probes further, questioning Logan's respect for pro wrestling. AJ counters, "He thinks he can just come to our ring, not an independent wrestling ring like the rest of us had, or maybe at least the PC to train a little bit." Their discussion highlights a generational clash, with AJ emphasizing the importance of earning one's place in WWE rather than leveraging fame alone.

Women's Division Spotlight: Iyo Sky's Dominance

The conversation shifts to the Women's Division, focusing on Iyo Sky's impressive victory over Rhea Ripley to claim the Women's World Championship. Megan praises, "Give the woman her flowers. She gets her interview with Michael Cole," while Sam discusses the ensuing tensions with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley.

At [32:04], Sam notes, "What's it gonna take for you to finally get some flowers?" referring to Iyo Sky's undeniable presence and skill. The hosts analyze Iyo's assertive behavior in the ring, particularly her confrontations with Ripley and Belair, reinforcing her status as the top contender heading into WrestleMania.

Upcoming Events and Fan Engagement

Sam and Megan announce exciting upcoming events, including Fanatics Fest scheduled from June 20th to 22nd at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Sam reminisces about last year's event, "I've interviewed Paul Heyman, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio," expressing enthusiasm for this year's lineup featuring stars like The Undertaker, Liv Morgan, and Cody Rhodes.

Additionally, they promote Funko Fridays, celebrating exclusive WWE merchandise drops each Friday in March. "The first Funko pop for Funko Friday is the bronze statue edition of Roman Reigns," Sam reveals, highlighting the collaboration with Fanatics and WWE.

Behind the Scenes: Chad Gable and Security Concerns

A brief but intriguing segment addresses security issues at Madison Square Garden, particularly the confusion surrounding a masked individual assumed to be Chad Gable. Megan mentions, "Maybe it's not Chad Gable because we saw him in the same room together," while Sam clarifies, "It's clearly not. We saw him."

Their lighthearted banter underscores the importance of maintaining security during high-profile events, ensuring fan safety amidst the chaos of live wrestling matches.

Closing Thoughts and Teasers for Next Week

As the episode wraps up, Sam and Megan express excitement for upcoming storylines, including the anticipated showdown between A.J. Styles and Logan Paul. Megan teases, "I really want to see this Logan Paul match," while Sam agrees, "I do not have to respect him being in my ring."

They also highlight future matches, such as the Intercontinental Championship clash featuring Dirty Dominik Mysterio and Penta El Zero M, adding to the anticipation for next week’s Raw.

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Notable Quotes:

• Sam Roberts [02:20]: "Roman Reigns was coming from a place where it was, how dare you."
• Megan Morant [07:59]: "The steel cage match was just so beautiful."
• AJ Styles [46:04]: "Logan Paul has it, so we're going to find out how bad he wants it."
• Sam Roberts [22:17]: "Cody Rhodes would tell you that it's him."
• Megan Morant [32:04]: "Give the woman her flowers."

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Raw Recap with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant offers fans a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the latest developments in WWE. From Roman Reigns' commanding return to A.J. Styles' outspoken stance on Logan Paul, the hosts ensure listeners are well-informed and engaged with every twist and turn of Monday Night Raw.

Transcript

[Sam Roberts]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know to check the Jumbotron first before attempting to eat a stack of supreme nachos in one bite. Now, you're just a meme that everyone shares on game day. Checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary, subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Jay USO got choked out. IYO sky is slapping people. AJ Styles is going to be on this show. Cody Rhodes has had enough. But put it all aside because the tribal chief is back. I'm Sam Roberts. That's Megan Morant. This is the Raw recap brought to you by WWE and Fanatics. Oh, my God. Megan. Megan. Megan. So much to do today. But the tribal chief, Roman Reigns, of all people, has returned. You and I are sitting here inside the Not Sam studio watching this classic steel cage match.

[Megan Morant]

And it was a classic.

[Sam Roberts]

Unbelievable. And we'll get to all of it. Trust me when I tell you, nobody's getting shortchanged here. But we got to start with the guy who's putting food on all of our tables because he reminded us of that tonight. As that match was reaching its peak, when both men had nothing left to give and we wondered, what gives? There was a tight shot on Seth Rollins face, and you could hear Madison Square Garden reacting. And you and I are asking, who is it? Who's coming out? Who's coming out? And then those big Samoan arms wrapped around the neck of Seth Rollins, pulling him outside the cage, and we find out your tribal chief, our tribal chief, the only tribal chief, Roman Reigns, is back from whatever injuries that he had at the Royal Rumble, and his first order of business was to inflict bodily harm on Seth Rollins.

[Megan Morant]

40 days until WrestleMania. And we were wondering, how does the tribal chief make his way down this road to Las Vegas? How does the tribal chief insert himself here? And when that crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted in the way that they did, that is only for one guy, and that is Roman Reigns.

[Sam Roberts]

This is real. We gotta react in real time. I got, by the way, 39 days, Tuesday, 39 days, 39 days. We're reacting in real time. Okay, Andrew Schultz is texting me right now from the front row. He was in the front row to see it all, and he just wrote, holy. You know what? He's incredible. Wow. Talking about your tribal chief, Roman Reigns. So Roman Reigns Came back. And it's so funny that you say that. You're right. 39 days until WrestleMania. And the funny thing is, and we were talking about it on Naz Wrestling as well, that there was this conversation that was going on with wrestling fans that we were saying, you know what? There's so much going on in WWE right now. There's so much happening. There's so much meat on this bone with. With Jay and Gunther&. And EO&. And Bianca and Charlotte and Tiffany and. And John Cena and Cody Rhodes and the Rock and the final boss, that they go, CM Punk and Seth Rollins, that they go. Drew McIntyre, McIntyre, they go. You know what? Not only might Roman not be in the main event, but if Roman wasn't even on WrestleMania, I think it'd be okay. That's what a lot of us were saying it. Because sometimes we don't see what we need to see when it's not right in front of us. Because the minute Roman Reigns steps foot in a WWE arena, again, all of that goes out the window.

[Megan Morant]

That's the type of reaction you get. What you got from Andrew Schultz.

[Sam Roberts]

Andrew Schultz, who, by the way, has seen it all. This guy has rubbed elbows. You see who shows up at his comedy shows. It's insane. And he's looking at Roman Reigns and going, he's incredible. Everything that that man, that Superstar did on Monday Night Raw was a reminder of why he's the tribal chief for everybody. And that's the thing about Roman Reigns. Yes, he knows exactly what he's doing. He doesn't do things to just play into his own ego. He doesn't show you everything that he's capable of. He waits until the moments that it matters. And he showed up in Madison Square Garden, waited for this moment that it mattered, and reminded everyone why he is head and shoulders above anybody else in wrestling right now. And I'm sorry if I'm fangirling out, but that's what's.

[Megan Morant]

You are fangirling out in the world.

[Sam Roberts]

That's what's gonna happen when the tribal chief comes back and especially comes back like this. This wasn't. I mean, it wasn't even the pomp and circumstance. No, it wasn't the music. It wasn't. This wasn't aura, Roman.

[Megan Morant]

No, it was not. And usually when you get the Ro in return, like we saw at Bad Blood, the SummerSlam. Yep, SummerSlam.

[Sam Roberts]

But he had that aura of bad.

[Megan Morant]

Blood too, you know? Yeah. And it wasn't that. But we had a lot of questions after the Royal Rumble. Right. We know Roman doesn't handle losing very well.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

And we haven't seen him since he lost a match at the Royal Rumble. And a lot happened in the Royal Rumble between Roman and CM Punk.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah.

[Megan Morant]

And Roman and Seth freakin Rollins.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

And there were questions like, who's Roman upset with?

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, I think that that was first answered by saying he's clearly upset with Seth Rollins because Seth Rollins tried to and took pride in the fact that he put Roman Reigns on the shelf. And it's really interesting because last week on Raw, recap, go look back whether you're on Spotify or whether you're on Apple or Whether you're on YouTube, go look back at the Rollins interview that we did last week and listen to him when he says, Roman's like a brother. Any sort of animosity comes from a place of love. But CM Punk is somebody who I absolutely hate. When Roman Reigns showed up, Seth Rollins had a look on his face like his big brother was back to collect. Seth Rollins looked like he had seen a ghost when Roman Reigns showed up. And I'm going to tell you something right now. Roman Reigns was not coming from a place that's rooted in love.

[Megan Morant]

Not at all.

[Sam Roberts]

Not at all. All.

[Megan Morant]

Not even in the slightest.

[Sam Roberts]

Roman Reigns was coming from a place where it was, how dare you. Not that you tried to beat me, that you tried to take this away from me, that you tried to take me away from this. And you thought you had me. Rollins went on Raw and bragged that he had taken Roman Reigns out of the WrestleMania conversation, that he had injured him to the extent that Roman wouldn't be back for WrestleMania. And then those. Those cold arms of justice wrap around the neck of Seth Rollins, drag him out to the floor. And if, by the way, if it wasn't for pesky Adam Pierce and the pesky Hurricane, Seth Rollins career would probably be over. I don't know what Roman would have done with Seth's head sandwiched between Roman's foot or fist or whatever was come or full body and that set of steel stairs.

[Megan Morant]

But then it gets juicier, which is unbelievable because the match alone. Yeah, the amount of near falls.

[Sam Roberts]

We'll get there. We'll get there. We'll get there.

[Megan Morant]

The steel cage match was just so beautiful.

[Sam Roberts]

But that's what it was, though. It was one for the ages.

[Megan Morant]

Yes.

[Sam Roberts]

And Roman was like, nah, nah.

[Megan Morant]

Because that's what he does.

[Sam Roberts]

Now, technically, Seth Rollins won the steel cage match. Steel cage matches won by Escape, but.

[Megan Morant]

Nobody'S going to be talking about the fact that Seth.

[Sam Roberts]

Listen, the graphic came up. CM Punk walked into Madison Square Garden 4 and. Oh, he walked out of Madison Square Garden 4 and 1. Seth Rollins beat CM Punk.

[Megan Morant]

I'm giving that a little asterisk.

[Sam Roberts]

You can. Bobby Bonilla, Asterisks all you want. I don't believe in asterisks. Put them all in the hall of Fame. And this was a loss for CM Punk. However it happened, it happened. It was a bigger loss for CM Punk because Roman Reigns.

[Megan Morant]

I think it's a loss for everyone except Roman Reigns.

[Sam Roberts]

Not for me. Not for me. You feel. Yeah, I mean, these emotions. This doesn't feel. I don't feel like a loser right now. I watch Roman as he turns and just looks into the cage. And this is like, this is what I talk about with Roman Reigns. Every single movement this guy makes, every expression he has with his face, his eyebrow, his eyeball, the way he twitches.

[Megan Morant]

His nose, the way his hair just falls off his shoulders.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, I don't know about hair, but most people, I would imagine, don't have control over the movement of their hair. But it seems like Roman Reigns does. He is so unbelievably in control, this guy. And dictates every emotion that he has. Every emotion that he wants you to feel is dictated by every movement that he makes. When he turns around and he looks inside that steel cage and he sees. And I think you didn't notice it at first because it just looked like somebody was helping CM Punk.

[Megan Morant]

It almost looked. And now that the officials wear these darker shirts.

[Sam Roberts]

Yes.

[Megan Morant]

It's. Oh, somebody dressed in darker clothing.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

Is helping CM Punk. He was just in a brutal cage match. It has to be unofficial, but I.

[Sam Roberts]

Go before they do the camera. I told you. I go, oh, my God. That's a wise man. And I went, no. And then they showed it. And you were like, oh, my God. Because, I mean, that's the thing, right, With Roman. You remember when the wise man wasn't picking up Roman Reigns call. I know you remember what that did to Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns has very few weaknesses, but Roman Reigns does not handle betrayal well. Ask Seth Rollins. Ask Sami Zayn. Ask any of the ungrateful people who have betrayed their tribal chief in the past.

[Megan Morant]

Doesn't handle losing sj, uso, or betrayal well.

[Sam Roberts]

Right?

[Megan Morant]

And then we remember that CM Punk and Paul Heyman have such a deeply rooted history. And there's this carrot floating, this carrot dangling. Think about the carrot, the favor.

[Sam Roberts]

I didn't even think about the carrot, I don't even know what it is at this point.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, I've forgotten about it until all of a sudden I see Paul Heyman and CM Punk in the ring together.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, if. If Wise man is stuck between a rock and a hard place, no pun intended. I'm not talking about the final boss this time. And CM Punk's favor has anything to. I don't even want to speculate. This isn't the place for wild speculation.

[Megan Morant]

But Heyman looks emotional.

[Sam Roberts]

Of course he's emotional, because you remember that sit down between CM Punk and Roman Reigns. When CM Punk said to Roman Reigns, he was my wise man before he was yours. And Roman Reigns knows that that's true now. That doesn't mean that the love there is stronger, but there's always something. You don't want your man's ex coming around being like, by the way, he loved me before he loved you. It's like, hey, why don't you shut your mouth about that? Because we don't even talk about old stuff anymore, in case you didn't know. But when he sees the consolation, the not consolation, but when he sees these two together. And Paul has real concern and real care. Look at Roman's face for CM Punk. Roman doesn't like it, not one bit. And Roman walks in and I don't know, I would love to hear this from Roman Reigns because my mind is going nuts, obviously. But I'm sitting there looking at it and I'm going, is Roman Reigns punishing CM Punk because he simply walked in? Paul Heyman knew to back away. And he takes out CM Punk. Is he punishing CM Punk or is he sending Paul Heyman a message? Was that beat down for Punk or was that beat down for Heyman to let Heyman know. I don't care who the first Paul Heyman guy was. I don't care what was going on before me. The tribal chief is back. Because I haven't seen that tribal chief because people want to say it all the time about this Roman Reigns, that he's soft now or that it's the act is stale or the third inning, it's more like the 13th. And they want to say all kinds of stuff, right? But tonight, the Madison Square Garden Roman Reigns that we saw, I haven't seen that Roman Reigns since the build up to his. Remember the build up to his Logan Paul match, where he write in the camera, he said, that's my camera. This is my building. That's my ring. Yeah, that's what he did tonight. On Raw. This is my steel cage. This is the world's most famous arena. And tonight it belongs to me. I set all this up for you. This is my sandpit that you're playing in. And never get confused about it.

[Megan Morant]

My gut reaction tells me that what Roman did to CM Punk today was a message to Paul Heyman.

[Sam Roberts]

Me too.

[Megan Morant]

It's just how I feel.

[Sam Roberts]

Because now, and Roman Reigns at the point now where Paul, you could get it too.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. I mean, there was a moment there where I said he might spear Paul Heyman.

[Sam Roberts]

Because here's the difference. Here's the difference with Roman Reigns than with anybody else that Paul Heyman has ever been with. The other people that Paul Heyman are with are Paul Heyman. Guys. Paul Heyman is a Roman Reigns guy, not the other way around.

[Megan Morant]

Correct.

[Sam Roberts]

And at a point, I think Roman Reigns realized, okay, there was a period of time where it was like, you know what? I gotta lick my wounds. Gotta get my family got back together. Gotta get the bloodline back together. I'm coming from a deficit. But now I think Roman Reigns is done apologizing. I think Roman Reigns is done with the. Well, you know, you got this guy upset. You got that guy upset. Your family doesn't. We put all the pieces back together. We had a successful war games. Everything went fine. Now no more games, no more apologies, no more making sure everybody's fine. The tribal chief is back. And the tribal chief is back to get what's his, which is everything.

[Megan Morant]

Paul Heyman. You saw what Seth Rollins did to me at Royal Rumble. Look what I did to him. Tonight at Madison Square Garden, you're going to talk to your former Paul Heyman guy, CM Punk. I'm going to. I'm going to send you a message as well. And he definitely did.

[Sam Roberts]

I could talk now.

[Megan Morant]

I don't think everything's hunky dory between CM Punk and Roman Reigns just to set the record straight. But I do think tonight was about sending a message to Paul Heyman.

[Sam Roberts]

I can talk about this the entire show. I do not want to. We've got so much more to cover. So let me catch my breath. Let's talk about some wonderful stuff from fanatics. We'll be right back. We'll talk about the cage match, talk about Cody Rhodes. We're going to have AJ Styles on the show. This is a big one.

[Megan Morant]

You know, Sam, the more time I spend in this studio here, your trot keys are really growing on me.

[Sam Roberts]

Are they? First of all, they're collectibles. Just so we all know they're very valuable, precious collectibles. But I'm glad that they're growing on you because they're about to grow even more. Yeah. Have you heard about Funko Fridays?

[Megan Morant]

Of course. I practice every Friday.

[Sam Roberts]

Every Friday?

[Megan Morant]

Yes.

[Sam Roberts]

Funko Fridays. Every Friday in March, a new Funko is dropping on WWE Shop exclusively. Thanks to fanatics and WWE and Megan. I got the first one.

[Megan Morant]

First one.

[Sam Roberts]

The first Funko pop for Funko Friday is the bronze statue edition of Roman Reigns. You know, it's inspired by the bronze statue that appears virtually when Roman Reigns has made so many of his entrances. We got it.

[Megan Morant]

This is quite the way to start Funko Fridays.

[Sam Roberts]

Wait till you see this. Wait till you see this. Okay. You talk about you'll never say the word chachki again after this. This is why we call them premium. Oh, collectibles. We put the one up for our tribal chief and now we do it while he's standing in bronze. Look at this guy. Look at our tribal chief in all of his glory. Megan.

[Megan Morant]

Greatness on a different level.

[Sam Roberts]

Have you ever seen anything like it?

[Megan Morant]

Not once. I think. I think I might keep this one.

[Sam Roberts]

Well, maybe I was considering giving it to you for the baby, but then I realized it's gotta stay in Nazam Studio. The people need to see it. I'm not giving it to you for the baby. I'm not gonna do it. It's too. It's too much.

[Megan Morant]

My child will be devastated.

[Sam Roberts]

I know. But they probably won't find out for a little while. So hopefully you keep them away from the podcast. And maybe if you really need one for baby, you go to WWE Shop because it's Funko Fridays all March long. And you can get it thanks to fanatics in wwe.

[Megan Morant]

And if we're starting with Roman Reigns.

[Sam Roberts]

Woo.

[Megan Morant]

The month is going to get hot.

[Sam Roberts]

It's going to be a big march. Welcome back. It's Raw recap. And I, we got to talk about everything that Cody Rhodes said at Madison Square Garden before we did. I promised we would talk about the cage match. That everything happened before the tribal chief returned.

[Megan Morant]

This is why the people came to Madison Square Garden tonight.

[Sam Roberts]

That's why Andrew Schultz was there. CM Punk versus Seth Rollins inside a steel cage. Absolutely brilliant match. Two guys that wanted to tear each other apart. Two guys that had multiple opportunities to leave the cage, but they did not want to because they wanted to leave their opponent dead.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. And it was, you know, Seth kept tempting CM Punk and CM Punk did.

[Sam Roberts]

The Seth as well.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. And Seth was Big on. You know, earn it. Earn it. You have to earn it. You know, he kept.

[Sam Roberts]

He said, if you want to take my house, you got to earn it.

[Megan Morant]

Yes. He kept. He kept poking the bear.

[Sam Roberts]

I almost. I almost wanted to say, by the way, it's Roman Rain's house, but I can't wait. Can't get back into the tribal Chief. It'll take.

[Megan Morant]

The amount of near falls that this match had was.

[Sam Roberts]

And not even, like, believable typical near falls. I mean, like, Punk breaking out the. The gts and then. And then Seth hitting his own gts and. And. And. And Seth locking on the stf, which, of course, hearkens back to the elimination chamber. Punk turning it in to the Anaconda Vice with Punk stomping Seth and Seth stomping Punk. There were multiple times Seth hitting a gts.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, I mean, but I have to say, my favorite part of the entire match had to be when both of them were on top of the elimination chamber. And, you know, now that we have robbed on the cage. Yes. Gosh, both of them.

[Sam Roberts]

I know.

[Megan Morant]

It's been so much. Both of them are on top of the steel cage. And, you know, now that we're in this Raw on Netflix era, we get all of these amazing drone shots, and we get to see this drone shot of Punk and Rollins. I don't know if we've ever seen that before. Live in action, captured up there. Yes. And they're hanging on for life. And here's CM Punk, who is no spring chicken, and Seth freaking Rollins, who has had a history of back issues, and both of them coming down off the cage.

[Sam Roberts]

It was a superplex. When you're draped over the top of a steel cage is nuts for anyone. Yes, but you're right to, like, CM Punk doesn't have to do that. No, he doesn't. He doesn't have to do that on this Monday night Raw or any Monday night Raw or any ple. He doesn't have to be there.

[Megan Morant]

He doesn't have to do that ever again.

[Sam Roberts]

No, but he's doing it because he's fighting for this thing. And it was interesting, too, because they were both looking at the WrestleMania sign, but there were no WrestleMania implications in this match.

[Megan Morant]

And that's why I kept saying, one of you should just walk out and take the dub. Right.

[Sam Roberts]

But they didn't want to take the dub. The reason Seth, I think, kept looking at that WrestleMania sign was because he said, my only reason for being right now is to make sure that you are too hurt to do anything at WrestleMania. I think that he was looking at the WrestleMania sign.

[Megan Morant]

He was like, look, I already got roman out of WrestleMania. Now I got to get Punk out of WrestleMania. So he thought, yeah, he took the.

[Sam Roberts]

Slammy for the most wrong person of the year tonight. But yeah, he I interesting that everybody who's ever looked at that WrestleMania sign has always looked at it with the intent of what I am going to be doing there. I think Seth Rollins might be the first person staring at that WrestleMania sign, envisioning somebody not being there. Because I think it's more important to Seth Rollins that Punk doesn't make it to WrestleMania than that he does.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, he's like the gatekeeper right now.

[Sam Roberts]

Wild, Wild.

[Megan Morant]

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[Sam Roberts]

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[Megan Morant]

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[Megan Morant]

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[Sam Roberts]

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[Sam Roberts]

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[Megan Morant]

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[Sam Roberts]

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[Sam Roberts]

Auto Parts. Well, speaking of gatekeepers, at one time you could argue that John Cena was the gatekeeper of that top tier in the wwe. But now if you ask around, Cody Rhods would tell you that it's him. I, I think especially the, the. The what, what Cody has been doing with that microphone coming off of the heavy first smackdown and then Madison Square Garden. Keep in mind, you talk about finishing the story that picture of Dusty Rhodes holding the WWE Championship that he never actually got to win because it was a countout victory that was in Madison Square Garden. I mean, he, you know, because the story has been so long, I don't think we should take for granted that Cody Rhodes is walking in to WWE territory to Madison Square Garden. That's WWE's building forever going back to the 60s 70s as the WWE champion, holding it in the air. And like you said, like he said on Friday night, that title, that don't look heavy to Cody Rhodes. It looks like he's having no problem lifting it, lifting it up.

[Megan Morant]

What a shot.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, this is it. This is the story. I love when Cody, when he gets some dirt under his fingernails. I love when he fired up.

[Megan Morant]

Cody Rhodes the best. And I feel like each and every week we've seen Cody Rhodes get more and more fired up.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

It was like, you know, with Kevin Owens, we saw a different side of Cody, and then, I mean, it's gone to a completely different level.

[Sam Roberts]

That's what happens when one of the top stars in hip hop punches you in the eye. I'm assuming that's who gave him the black eye. I don't know for sure. There's a lot of beating going on.

[Megan Morant]

There's a lot of Internet chatter about that as well.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, I want to say something about that, but it was interesting to me that Cody brought up the fact that John Cena is not here. He said, we're in Madison Square Garden. This is the epicenter, and John Cena is not here. And immediately I go back to WrestleMania 28, when John Cena was the champion, but somebody was coming in from a previous generation who thought he was a bigger star than John Cena. And John Cena was at every single Raw, and this other person was not. This other person showed up whenever he could show up. To the point.

[Megan Morant]

Are you talking about being a part timer?

[Sam Roberts]

To the point. I would never say that. Never say those words. But to the point where this human being had a shirt that said I bring it, and John Cena made one that said via satellite. I'm talking about a young John Cena in a rivalry with the Rock. This is. This is the spirit, and it's a different scenario, but this is the spirit that I'm getting from Cody Rhodes and an older John Cena. Cody Rhodes has no interest in kissing the ring. Cody Rhodes has no interest in hearing a conversation about, you know, has he reached John Cena's status? Cody Rhodes made it very clear that he is the guy. What did he say? I'm the captain now.

[Megan Morant]

Look at me.

[Sam Roberts]

Look. Look at me. Look at me.

[Megan Morant]

I am the captain. Yes, I do love how he brings up John Cena's tweet. Right. The tweet the morning after the elimination chamber where John Cena. I want to make sure that I. Yeah. Get it word for word that I get this. Correct.

[Sam Roberts]

He called him a GD moron, by the way. Yes. He said he was a GD moron.

[Megan Morant]

But he pulls up. Gosh, I'm scrolling through. He calls out his exact tweet, which, you know, with John Cena, he puts up inspirational tweets every morning. So you never really know if it's. It's like a fortune cookie type of tweet or if this is a tweet, that that means something. This morning after the elimination chamber, it definitely meant something because John Cena put out have the discipline to do what needs to be done, especially when you don't feel like it. So Cody Rhodes calling out Cena for what he said after the elimination chamber and Cody Rhodes also saying, you know, 17 is what you're going for, but I'm going to have to be the one who stops my hero from making history.

[Sam Roberts]

And he's gonna take pleasure in it. He's gonna take pleasure in it. And I'll tell you this, you know, it's really interesting because I remember when Cody Rhodes documentary came out, the Peacock documentary came out. I did a q and A with Cody at the premiere of that. And I asked Cody, you know, it was the first time I had seen the doc. And you have all these legends in the doc talking about Cody. This is before he had won the WWE Championship, but you have Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker and Ric Flair and all of these legends. And Cody, as a. As a lifelong fan and student of the game, I remember specifically because I loved his answer so much, asking him, you know, are you blown away? Are you floored that you have the greatest legends in the history of the business talking about how great you are? And he said, without ego, without hubris, he said that, yeah, he appreciates what a big deal that is, but also that's what they should be doing, that he is that person of today. He's the top guy today and the legend. It shouldn't be this, oh, my gosh, I'm so in awe of you. Sure, it should be. Those top guys are talking about this top guy, and I'm the one who's able to do it night in, night out today. And that's something that stuck with me and an awareness that I think Cody Rhodes has, that he has the ability, no matter what people say or do or anything, Cody has the ability to do something that other people can't day in, day out.

[Megan Morant]

Now, Cody has always come off just so respectful. And he's been the type of superstar, the type of person, the type of champion that sometimes has worn his heart on his sleeve.

[Sam Roberts]

Absolutely.

[Megan Morant]

Now, we have seen Cody Rhodes completely change, and he's had to. Because when you're the champion, when you are the top guy in wwe. We've seen this, Sam.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah.

[Megan Morant]

You don't have friends.

[Sam Roberts]

No. Because they're after what You've got.

[Megan Morant]

Exactly. Do you think any part of this is a little bit heartbreaking for Cody Rhodes?

[Sam Roberts]

Well, I, I, In a way, I think is a. The human perspective could be. Yeah, nobody wants that. But like I said.

[Megan Morant]

But he's not showing those emotions whatsoever.

[Sam Roberts]

Not showing the emotions.

[Megan Morant]

He has been so impressive and he's.

[Sam Roberts]

A student of the game. I think that his whole point about it not being too heavy for him is that that thing that you're talking about is something he can deal with and something he was ready to deal with. You know who else was a world champion? His father. He's seen it all, he's watched it all, and he asked for this more than anyone has ever asked for it. He made this happen. So I think that while you're right and that can be a heartbreaking thing to go through, I think that he was aware that it was probable and. And I think he's ready for it now. To go back to the Internet hubbub and the black eye and everything.

[Megan Morant]

Yes.

[Sam Roberts]

A lot of people have been saying a lot about Travis Scott. I know Bubba Ray Dudley's not a fan. I've seen, you know, I saw that.

[C]

Yep.

[Megan Morant]

I saw Bubba's thoughts.

[Sam Roberts]

A lot of people have been saying, you know, what was this guy doing in there? How dare somebody who's outside of the world. Right. Travis Scott has responded to everybody, and he's done it in the most Travis Scott way via a T shirt. And I am so excited about it. I mean, you know, I love the Travis Scott Cactus Jack collabs in general. And, you know this about me. So the idea that this has come to WWE is so fun for me. But, yes, the answer to everybody's question is wrestling is real. And Travis Scott has put it on a Cactus Jack T shirt. I don't know if you guys have seen it, but he put out a. A shirt that says wrestling is real. It's got the old school Scratch WWE logo. It's got that iconic photo on the back of Cena of Travis Scott and of the final boss.

[Megan Morant]

You're going to make a bold statement and get the people talking. You better drop merch with it.

[Sam Roberts]

It's the boldest statement, and to me, it's one of those pieces of merch that symbolizes just a major, major event. So go look at WWE Shop and look at the. Look at the Cactus Jack. Travis Scott, WWE collab. Cactus Jack. Not Mick Foley. Travis Scott. Cactus Jack. Just so everybody's well aware.

[Megan Morant]

Also, not Chelsea Green.

[Sam Roberts]

Not Chelsea Green. That's Chick Foley. That's so. But speaking of women that don't mind putting a beating down on people, we saw in the ring, Iyo sky, the new champion. Yes. The Women's World Champion. And I'm glad you brought that up, because that's, to me, what this is all about. Iyo sky has interview time on television. Iyo sky has interview time with Michael Cole. And by the way, EO, because she.

[Megan Morant]

Earned the interview time.

[Sam Roberts]

And how'd she earn it?

[Megan Morant]

She defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Women's World Championship.

[Sam Roberts]

We talked to you about it last week on Raw. Recap. It was an amazing moment.

[Megan Morant]

Back was against the wall. Leo had no path to WrestleMania. She had one way there, and it was to defeat the eradicator. And she did it. So give the woman her flowers. She gets her interview with Michael Cole.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, what's it gonna take for you to finally get some flowers, right? So she's got this interview with Michael Cole, and all of a sudden, here comes Bianca Belair, and it's like, okay, Bianca's got the WrestleMania match. She won the elimination chamber. You know, I believe we saw a graphic Bianca Eos guy. Women's World Championship, WrestleMania 41, Las Vegas, Nevada. So they're hashing it out. Boom. This is my brutality. Here comes Rhea Ripley and, of course, Madison Square Gardens losing their mind for it. You know, this is Mommy in front of everybody, but Mommy is not looking happy.

[Megan Morant]

She told them to cut the music, Right?

[Sam Roberts]

And we were all enjoying it. Rhea Ripley gets in the ring, and she gets right in the face of Bianca Belair. What were you doing out there? What were you doing out there? Now, look, I'm a Rhea Ripley fan. Sometimes a Stan. Mainly a fan. Bianca Belair being at ringside for this Women's World Championship match on the road to WrestleMania, with Bianca being the one who's getting the shot at WrestleMania is not strange.

[Megan Morant]

No.

[Sam Roberts]

This is something we've seen many times.

[Megan Morant]

Before scouting the competition. And Bianca wasn't there being that much of a distraction.

[Sam Roberts]

I don't think so. And I saw people trying to go like, oh, clapping for this one. She was applauding both women. That's what I saw in the match. Okay.

[Megan Morant]

She respects both opponents, and I believe she's made that clear.

[Sam Roberts]

Wow. I don't know right now. I think before Raw, you might have been right. Yes, but. So Ria's out there, and she's arguing with Bianca Belair. Right? Ria brings up Rhea, says that Bianca is the one that cost her. Now, this is odd to me. Because, again, this is easy for me to say. I'm, you know, I got the. I got the distance. I'm a Tuesday morning quarterback. I think Rhea Ripley maybe should have done a little bit more arguing with the mirror and less arguing with Bianca Belair. However she chose Bianca Belair, it's tough to look internally sometimes, and she's saying that it. Not only is it Bianca's fault, but then she gets dirty. She brings up, you know, Bianca's personal business with Naomi and Jay Cargill, which.

[Megan Morant]

We know has been stressing out Bianca Belair.

[Sam Roberts]

Wouldn't it stress you had. There were tears on smackdown. Tears.

[Megan Morant]

It was emotional.

[Sam Roberts]

So IYO is like, hey, enough. Like, champion over here. Hello. She tries to get between them. Ria shoves IO Whoa, whoa. I'm the champion now. Bianca starts going back at Rhea Ripley. And I'm sitting there going, bianca, we going back at Rhea Ripley for, like, if somebody comes out and yells at you, I understand. Nobody likes to be yelled at. But, like, to me, I would think I go, hey, this doesn't concern you. You can be mad all you want. She's going to be champion. I'm going to be number one contender. You're going to be mad. Now that we figured out where we're all at, can we just go about our business?

[Megan Morant]

Ria going at Bianca isn't going to do anything to help Ria get the title back.

[Sam Roberts]

But neither is Bianca going after Rhea.

[Megan Morant]

Correct.

[Sam Roberts]

Because then Bianca. But she took that personally. She's like Michael Jordan looking at an iPad. She took it personally. Okay. And she starts going after Rhea Ripley. Then IO says, enough. And Bianca face palmed iyo Sky. You see your face, Palmer?

[Megan Morant]

I did Face palming the champion. And that little fire.

[Sam Roberts]

Come on. Could you imagine? You win a champ that. That you win Rhea Ripley's championship. You're getting facepalmed a week later. Get the you know what out of here. Okay.

[Megan Morant]

And EO had to send a message to both Ria and Bianca.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh. She slapped a taste out of Rhea Ripley. And then she slapped Bianca twice as hard. Just to let everybody know, in case you didn't know, there's a belt around my waist.

[Megan Morant]

That's right.

[Sam Roberts]

And inscribed in it, it says, this is my division. And the fans are going nuts for IYO Sky. I think in all that, the arguing between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair is doing is reminding everybody how awesome IO is.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. And EO has to feel like, why are either of you overlooking me?

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Hello.

[Megan Morant]

Bianca, you better focus because we have a match at WrestleMania 41.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah.

[Megan Morant]

Rhea, you couldn't get past me last week.

[Sam Roberts]

Right? Right. What are we doing? I mean, what are we And I. Yeah. So I hope that some semblance of rationality has kicked in with Bianca and with Rhea Ripley. I don't know what Rhea Ripley's plan is.

[Megan Morant]

And now I know that these are different types of superstars, right? You look at Bianca and Rhea, and the size and the athleticism is different than what you have in Iyo. Not to say it's better. You see what IYO does off the top rope. You see what kind of magic that IYO sky can make in a ring.

[Sam Roberts]

You see what Iyo does when she's mad and just wants to use her hand to swing at people.

[Megan Morant]

Now, both of those women might be taller than Iyo.

[Sam Roberts]

Big deal.

[Megan Morant]

So what?

[Sam Roberts]

So what? I'm not the tallest guy. So what? Who cares? Who's counting? Who's measuring? You know what I mean?

[Megan Morant]

Who has the title?

[Sam Roberts]

Exactly.

[Megan Morant]

It's Iyo.

[Sam Roberts]

Exactly. And you don't win it by mistake. No, I mean, I know that to me, it's like, I'm sure Ria would like to be factored into the WrestleMania match, but I don't see what the path is, and I certainly don't think it's interrupting promos, but maybe I'm wrong. I never. I've never gotten a WrestleMania match, so what do I know? I do want to know. Like, I. It's cute and all. Oh, I just. Yeah. Yeah. I just wasn't. I'm not like a matchy matchy with.

[Megan Morant]

Our new show that we should be matching.

[Sam Roberts]

No, I mean, it's cute. It's super cute. But also, like, we're not.

[Megan Morant]

I texted you and I said, please wear your Austin316 shirt tonight. And I was like, recap show.

[Sam Roberts]

I was like, yeah. I mean, I was. I mean, look, there's probably a at least 5 and 10 shot that I was going to wear my Austin 316 shirt anyway. But why is it. Was it so important to wear?

[Megan Morant]

Well, because this weekend is Austin316 Day. It's March 16th.

[Sam Roberts]

Let me check my calendar right here. Yes.

[Megan Morant]

Yes.

[Sam Roberts]

It's the last. This would be the last raw recap.

[Megan Morant]

Before 3:16 of what I'm putting down. So I wanted us to wear the shirts to remind everybody that this weekend is Austin 316 day and to celebrate.

[Sam Roberts]

Is that why you brought the tiki?

[Megan Morant]

I did. I brought my geeky tiki of stone cold Steve Austin. And I brought you for your coffee tomorrow. On your morning commute, I noticed that.

[Sam Roberts]

It'S a stone cold shaker. I didn't know why it was here. You brought this?

[Megan Morant]

Yes, I brought that for you. I mean, look, I'm not just celebrating on 3 16. I am celebrating all week because there are so many amazing stone cold Steve Austin merchandise.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, I mean, look, I would get to WWE Shop right now. You know, obviously fanatics in WWE have figured out how to. How to properly celebrate 316 day. So I would deck out your whole place with Austin stuff. Because once three. Because this is one of those days that sneaks up on you. Once 316 hits, you know, you're going to be checking out my Instagram. I'm going to post that picture of me hanging out on 316 Gimmick street like, and you're gonna wish you had all kinds of stone cold stuff. There is so much of it on WWE Shop thanks to WWE and fanatics. So go check that out. I also want to give a. What's a negative version of a shout out? I have a grievance. I have a grievance. I have a grievance. Yeah, we need to do something about security at Madison Square Garden. Fans just jumping in and Lucha masks.

[Megan Morant]

Or maybe. I mean, I don't know. Kathy Kelly was convinced that it was Chad Gable, but maybe it wasn't Chad Gable because we.

[Sam Roberts]

Maybe I saw him in the same room together.

[Megan Morant]

Well, we did see backstage there was another man being escorted out of Madison's.

[Sam Roberts]

What do you mean another man? It was this guy. It was the guy. It was the guy in the American made mask.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, there was a lot of claims that this is Gable.

[Sam Roberts]

It's clearly not. We saw him.

[Megan Morant]

Gracias.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Gable doesn't speak Spanish.

[Megan Morant]

No, definitely not.

[Sam Roberts]

He says thank you. I don't even know what gracias means. I don't know what the.

[Megan Morant]

But he is valedictorian, so I'm sure. Maybe he's bilingual.

[Sam Roberts]

They were in the same room at the same time. I mean, I know Kathy Kelly's got this legendary iq, but it doesn't take a legendary IQ to know if he's over there and Chad Gable's over there. It ain't Chad Gable.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

You know, so I'm glad to see Chad Gable back.

[Megan Morant]

I wonder how his quest went.

[Sam Roberts]

Chad Gable.

[Megan Morant]

I still wonder what was in the box.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, that's right. I forgot about the box. Well, it wasn't that mask. That's. No, because somebody else was wearing it. But hopefully Chad Gable teaches security how to keep the. The ringside area completely clear.

[Megan Morant]

You know, you would think that the world's most famous arena would step it up.

[Sam Roberts]

I would think so. But look, again, that's just me. I do also want to say, okay, so I'm watching Jay USO and Gunther this week, okay. And I love this saga because I love how watching Jay USO and Gunther, because this is the match that I feel like has had the most time. This is a slow cooking match. Okay. And the idea that Jay and Gunther both know that they're looking at each other from basically the night after the Royal Rumble. It was a week after the Royal Rumble. I think that Jay finally said Gunther. But as of the night after the Royal Rumble, Gunther was on the hunt. And he said, I'm going to make your life a living hell. And both of these men have already gone through a change because of this match. We saw this beast awakened in Jey uso and we saw him take out, not only beat Grayson Waller, he took out Austin theory as well before he got choked out by Gunter. But I think last week, to me it was like, okay, there's a beast in Jay uso. This week I've come to a conclusion. Jay USO has gotten to Gunther. Oh, he is in Gunther's kitchen. I mean, if Gunther is doing any associating at all with a town down under, this is so not Gunther's speed.

[Megan Morant]

There are very few people that can stir the pot quite like a town down under. So if Gunter had to stoop down to this level to.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, I mean, it's everything. It's everything Gunther was complaining about with Jey uso. It's the.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, Grayson Waller has an effect, as we talked about last week. I'll recap. I mean, this is a guy who has his own.

[Sam Roberts]

But let me go a step further. I think Jey uso has gotten to Gunther. I don't know if that's good news for Jey uso. That's what we're forgetting.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

That Gunther being driven to the point of doing things that he normally would not do. Now, granted, Gunther doing the things that he normally does ends up in victories. However, Gunther being driven to do things that he normally would not do could mean an even more brutal than usual WrestleMania.

[Megan Morant]

Because what level will he stoop to?

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, that's what I'm saying. The Jey uso better come. I mean, he better have. He better get his beast Mode up like 3, 4, 5, 6 degrees.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

Because otherwise, I mean, he was feeling good on Monday night Raw and he got put directly to sleep. Now look, Jay USO is one of the most popular superstars in all of the WWE. And, and you were telling me that WrestleMania is not the end all be all for J USO because you were showing me on Instagram that they started announcing the. The Fanatics Fest.

[Megan Morant]

Yes, they did. And. And J USO is one of them right now.

[Sam Roberts]

You know, I love Fanatics Fest. I was at Fanatics Fest last year doing not Sam wrestling shows. I interviewed Paul Heyman, interviewed Drew, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio. And we did it. Live shows everybody could watch. It was like really, really awesome. So I personally hope to be back there, but already we know that the Undertaker is going to be there.

[Megan Morant]

It's just huge.

[Sam Roberts]

Which, like, just like getting a meet and greet with the Undertaker. But the idea that, who knows, maybe he'll do a podcast. Who knows what he'll be doing there? The Undertaker will be there. Like you said, Jay uso. But we also know Liv Morgan's gonna be at Fanatics Fest.

[Megan Morant]

Rhea Ripley's gonna be a Fanatics Fest.

[Sam Roberts]

And how about Cody Rhodes? Cody Rhodes, the WWE Champion. Will he still be WWE Champion? I don't know. Because this thing is June 20th through the 22nd. It's in New York City once again at the Jacob Javits Center. Exclusive photo ops, autograph sessions, everything. So stay tuned. We'll, we'll, I'm sure here, make all kinds of announcements about who's going to be at Fanatics already.

[Megan Morant]

What a lineup.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, Cody, Ria, J uso, Liv Morgan, the Undertaker.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, get. I mean clear.

[Sam Roberts]

Clear your June 20th through the 22nd and just be there. That's what I'm talking about.

[Megan Morant]

You're gonna need a day to recover. So clear. The 23rd too.

[Sam Roberts]

That's right. Are you coming with me this year?

[Megan Morant]

I hope so. Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

That's what I'm talking about. Now we got somebody to join Raw recap. Somebody who had a big Monday night Raw, the phenomenal one, A.J. styles. And now joining us from backstage at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, the phenomenal one, AJ Styles. Aj, we just watched you. You seem to desperately want to hurt Logan Paul. What is it about Logan Paul that you feel deserves a beating?

[C]

Well, I feel like I'm. It's being the rest of the country wanting to hurt Logan Paul. So I'm just trying to do everyone a favor and get it done as quick as possible. Get him out of our ring.

[Sam Roberts]

You. You say? I was going to say, you say get him out of your ring. That's what I was. I was curious about. Right. Because the conversation is that we all have had is that Logan Paul is good at this. He's better at this than we thought he would be. He's good at getting a reaction from the audience. He's good at moves, he's good at matches. But does he respect wrestling, do you think? Logan Paul respects pro wrestling? Foreign.

[C]

It's like giving your kids everything they want before, you know, they even work for anything. They're spoiled. Right. And I would say it's kind of the same thing with Logan Paul. He thinks he can just come to a WW ring, not a independent wrestling ring like the rest of us had, or maybe at least the. The PC to train a little bit. He has done none of that and thinks he belongs in our ring. We've paid our dues. We've done what we've had to do to get to where we're at. Logan Paul has it, so we're going to find out how bad he wants it. I'm going to stay on him. I'm going to stay on him until either he's going to fight back and do something about it, or he's going to leave.

[Megan Morant]

Now, aj, he hasn't paid his dues, there's no question about it. But he is really good at this. Do you respect Logan Paul?

[Sam Roberts]

He's an athlete.

[C]

He's an athlete. There's no doubt about it. The guy's an athlete. But there are tons of athletes out there that don't belong in our ring. We, like I said, had to pay our dues. We had to sacrifice something to get in that rink. Whether it's time, whether it's pain or both or all of it, we have to sacrifice so much. And then there's a guy that thinks he can just walk into our ring and do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants. Claims he's this biggest star, you know, I mean, yeah, he's got a lot of followers. Maybe Triple H is happy about that, you know, great. But he's going to have to earn his spot on the WWE roster.

[Megan Morant]

You talk about someone who's a star. Andrew Scholz at the world's most famous Arena Tonight, and he said that he came to see wrestlers like AJ Styles. When you hear him say that, how does that make you feel?

[Sam Roberts]

Freaking.

[C]

Andrew's awesome, you know, dude's hilarious. And the fact that he come out here to support the WWE is, you know, music to my ears. This is what we do. This is why we do it, you know, celebrities coming and supporting their. Their wrestling, wwe. That's what it's all about.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. And I guess that's the difference, right? The difference is that Schultz shows up and he's like, wanting to showcase WWE and what WWE does where it seems like Logan Paul comes in and kind of wants to. Wants to take from instead of give to. Does that. Does that make sense?

[C]

He hasn't given anything, right? That's. That is the problem, right? You got to give something to get something, and he hasn't given anything. I can respect the fact that he wants to do something like this because we all want to do it, but we had to do it the right way. We had to do it the hard way. And I feel like the red carpet was rolled out for Logan, and it is what it is. And if we're being honest, why is he here? Because he's made a star with his, you know, podcasts and, you know, all the things, other things that he's been. I mean, the guys. Listen, I'm not saying he's not a smart kid. He figured out long before the rest of us did how to make a lot of money and how to do it fast at a young age. I got it. I respect that. But I don't have to respect him being in my ring.

[Sam Roberts]

I think that's what it comes down to, right, Is. Is where he is and him being in your ring, that ring that you, like you said, had to work so hard to get to. I mean, you were working for years and years and years in pro wrestling before you got to a WWE ring. And even while you've been here, injuries will take you out. You just got back from an injury. At what point did you realize this was something that you needed to do? At what point are you sitting at home with your last injury, watching Logan Paul and thinking, the minute I get back, I'm going to make sure he realizes whose ring this is. Was this something that happened more recently? Is this something that's been building longer?

[C]

I didn't start this. Logan did. I'm just going to finish it. You know, we're going to find out how bad he wants it. He wants to be in a WWE ring. How bad do you want to be in it? It's not easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it. So let's just take him to a point where he might break, and if he doesn't, well, maybe he belongs, and I'll respect that. I don't have to like him, but I can respect it.

[Sam Roberts]

But you're gonna have to bring him to that breaking point. That's very old school mentality. What do you think, what do you think that is? What do you. What point do you think that is? What are you gonna have to do to Logan Paul to know in yourself? I brought him to this breaking point. I brought him to a point that would break other people.

[C]

Well, I have. I've broken others. Yeah, I beat others. Maybe it's a match. Maybe that's what this needs to be. And so, yeah, let's have a match. I don't care where it is. Let's do it. Let's see what you got. Let's see how bad you want it. How much punishment are you willing to take? How. What injuries are you willing to come back from? Let's find out.

[Sam Roberts]

Did you know Andrew Schultz was a fan of yours?

[C]

No. No clue. No clue. That's pretty cool, man. Which was. Which is awesome, right? Because he's so funny. Yeah. Such a great dude.

[Sam Roberts]

Well, I mean, aj, it's good to catch you in a good mood. It's good to catch you in a jovial space, but I think that that's. That's. You're a pretty laid back dude most of the time. And I think that sometimes that can give people the wrong impression and that sometimes people forget how much you've done and how much you're capable of. Do you think that Logan Paul is fully aware of the person, as somebody who hasn't maybe studied wrestling as much as the rest of us, do you think Logan Paul is fully aware of the person that he's pissed off?

[C]

I don't think anyone is aware of what happens in a ring. It sets me off. It's. It's one of those things when I step through the ropes, it's a different human being altogether. And, you know, a lot of things can get to me. I can't imagine too many things getting to me these days with what someone says about me. I've heard it all, so. But being in the ring that maybe they don't belong in, I don't know, it just takes me to a different place. And I like it when we step through the ring, stepped into that ring, through those ropes like I wanted. I want to go to another place. This is where I live. This is where I've spent most of my career. This is what I've dedicated my life to. So I like that space, and I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can.

[Megan Morant]

Aj, you spent so much time in the ring and it's been such a journey for you. You've been humbled many times in there. Do you think Logan Paul is capable of being humbled?

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, I thought you're going to go in a different direction.

[C]

Okay, everyone, hold on. Everyone's capable of being humbled. Everyone. There's not a guy that's ever stepped foot in a WW ring that hasn't been humbled. You're going to get humbled no matter. I don't care what kind of athlete you are. I don't care who you are, you're gonna get humbled. Someone's always gonna be working harder. Somebody's always gonna do more, is always gonna want it more than you. You will get humbled. I don't care who you are.

[Megan Morant]

I don't know if Logan thinks he's gonna get humbled.

[Sam Roberts]

I was gonna say on that note, aj, as a wrestling fan, I want to see you beat up Logan Paul. I think a lot of people want to see you beat up Logan Paul, but ultimately, what happens if there is a match and what happens if Logan Paul beats you? What happens if Logan Paul doesn't get humbled? What happens if he's able to beat the phenomenal one?

[C]

Well, I can't imagine something like that. It's going to happen. But if he does, then he maybe deserves to be here. Maybe he's done something to prove that he deserves to be in the wwe. Listen, Logan Paul, we can say, well, and we can make excuses of why he beat other guys because he has one of the greatest luchadors in the history of professional wrestling got beat by Logan Paul. You know, anyone can lose. It's not the first time I've lost to someone that people didn't think could beat me. I'm not saying I'm going to lose them, lose Logan Paul. I don't plan on losing at anything. I do. But at any given point, you can get beat. Anybody can get beat. But if Logan Paul is going to beat AJ Styles, he's going to have to go through hell.

[Sam Roberts]

And I believe that, too. Especially how jacked you are right now. That's what's amazing to me is aj, at this point in your career, you've decided to just get as beefed up as anybody that I've ever seen. Was that. I mean, at what point did you consciously decide, I'm just going to remind these people how jacked I am capable of being?

[C]

You know, when I broke my foot and was injured for a couple months, I decided that I had to change something. I Had to do something. I had to take care of my body. I had to do whatever it takes to get to, you know, a level where I felt healthy. And that's what started it. You know, I. I talk to people all the time about these cold plunges and whatnot and how it's changed my life, but it's one of those things where you can not. It's not just that it's eating healthy. You know, everybody thinks that I beefed up to 200 and whatever pounds. I'm still the same weight, which sounds crazy. I've just slimmed down the places I needed to. So say what you want. You know, I believe in the cold plunge. I believe in the sauna. I believe in eating healthy. Healthy. If you can do all that and you can take all the shortcuts that you can, that will get you to the next level, meaning that there are biohacks that you can do to get you there. You know, it's like if you cold. I'm gonna make me harp on this. I cold plunge before I work out, and I burn more calories if I do that. So that's why I cold plunge, because my body's trying to get the whole time. So I'm trying to find these little biohacks like that and do all those. If I hear about something, I'll try it. I fast all the time. I fasted before I got here. You know, I do all these things to try to, you know, get whatever my body working, working better. If there's a chance that it happens. If it happens 1%, then that's more than what I had. So I'll try it.

[Sam Roberts]

That's amazing. Well, A.J. i'm looking at the size of your shoulders. I'm looking at the size of your arms. It does. I'm looking at the size of your neck. It doesn't look to me like you're the same, but, look, you figured it out, man. You figured out something. Look at that. Look at the biceps and triceps on this guy, and you still got that head of hair. I don't understand any of it.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, between AJ Coming back looking better than ever and Randy coming back yoked as well. I mean, there's got to be some sort of group chat where you guys are like, oh, I'm gonna watch you.

[Sam Roberts]

Did you all sell your souls to the rock you got. Did you guys all sell your souls? Is that how you did it?

[C]

No. Did not. Did not. My soul does not belong to him. I promise you that. I don't Think it's mine to sell.

[Megan Morant]

So his soul belongs to the cold plunge.

[C]

Not. Not happening.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. I love it. Well, aj, thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us, man. And I, I, I, I, I, I think that the, the run that you're on and about to, to define is, is so cool as a fan for me to see. And I really want to see this Logan Paul match. I really, really want to see this Logan Paul match.

[C]

Me too.

[Sam Roberts]

Thank you, man.

[C]

All right, guys. Appreciate it.

[Sam Roberts]

Thank you, dude.

[Megan Morant]

See ya. See, this is what I've been telling you. Cold plunging. I know. I mean, listen, for New Year's, your New Year's resolution, which we know you're a big resolution guy.

[Sam Roberts]

Love a resolution.

[Megan Morant]

Your resolution this year was more screen time and less cold plunging.

[Sam Roberts]

No, it's temperate baths.

[Megan Morant]

Oh, temperate baths. So you're going to avoid cold. I think you saw aj, you think.

[Sam Roberts]

I'm yolk like aj If I start doing cold plunges, he swears by it. Look, I believe aj and I would take any advice that he had, but I get out of a cold plunge, it still looks like I got out of the drive.

[Megan Morant]

Maybe you're not doing enough of them. He does a pre and post workout.

[Sam Roberts]

I can't believe that he said he hasn't gained weight. I mean, it looks like he's put on 20 pounds of muscle. The guy is jacked.

[Megan Morant]

Maybe it's just the distribution.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The proportions. I did think it was, I thought it was great tonight seeing Logan Paul get called out. I love that. Because Logan Paul's running around talking like he's a full time wrestler. He's going to devote his life to it, it's nonsense. So the idea that AJ Styles, of all people, who I think is one of those guys that just represents everything great about professional wrestling, the fact that he's the guy stepping up to Logan Paul, I love. And people go like, oh, you just don't like this celebrity. You don't like that celebrity. Talking about positive celebrity involvement, Andrew Schultz gets put on the spot, asked, what are you at Madison Square Garden to.

[Megan Morant]

See there for the wrestlers.

[Sam Roberts]

He's there for the wrestlers. He's there for the cage match. He's there for eo, he's there for AJ Styles. I loved it. Looking at Logan Paul saying, this is in Cleveland.

[Megan Morant]

Logan Paul didn't like that.

[Sam Roberts]

No, he didn't. God, do I want to see AJ Styles beat Logan Paul. I had to ask him. I had to ask him, like, what happens if you don't Because I thought that's where you were going. And then I fell in love with the controversy of the question.

[Megan Morant]

Well, I just think. Yeah, I mean, there was a second there during the question. I was like, oh, am I saying the right thing is I'm going to get mad at me. I mean, look, AJ Styles has had an unbelievable career, but there have been times where he's been humbled in the ring.

[Sam Roberts]

I know, I know. And also not trying to.

[Megan Morant]

Not trying to bring up anything bad.

[Sam Roberts]

I know. Well, I know. And then I said the thing. Well, I got Seth mad at me last week. I was hoping to get a. I.

[Megan Morant]

Just don't know if there's any way that Logan Paul could possibly be humbled in any.

[Sam Roberts]

I don't think so.

[Megan Morant]

Area of his life, which is why.

[Sam Roberts]

I. I worry that.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, I watched the preview for his reality show. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, the ego.

[Sam Roberts]

Turn it off for one second. We'll see. We'll see if we get the AJ Styles Logan Paul match. I really want to see it, though. I really want to see it. Speaking of stuff, I really want to see next week, Monday night Raw, Brussels. I. We may be able to hit you with an earlier than usual RAW recap because Raw will be earlier than usual in the United States, but not only do we have an intercontinental championship match thanks to Dirty Dominic Mysterio, you know, that's your guy. Got the hug from. From F to the B.

[Megan Morant]

That is your guy. But, you know, Sam, does. Does it bother you at all that he's not taking these opportunities for himself?

[Sam Roberts]

He's hooking up his homie. All right, all right.

[Megan Morant]

Live wanted him to take it for himself.

[Sam Roberts]

Well, you know what? Lives ride or die, and I appreciate that about Live, but he's hooking up his homie. You can't. You can't hate that. We've got that match. We got no holes barred. Penta versus Ludwig Kaiser.

[Megan Morant]

So awesome.

[Sam Roberts]

Which is amazing.

[Megan Morant]

And then I cannot wait to see the Penta entrance.

[Sam Roberts]

I'm just in Brussels.

[Megan Morant]

It gets better every time he does it.

[Sam Roberts]

So good. And then finally, for the first time since the elimination chamber, under the same roof at the same time, Cody Rhodes and John Cena are going to be in the same building.

[Megan Morant]

And this is not the John Cena that we are used to and.

[Sam Roberts]

But this is also not the Cody Rhodes that he's used to.

[Megan Morant]

No. I just cannot wait to see what John Cena looks like, what he acts like, what he talks like.

[Sam Roberts]

I don't know. I don't know. But I want to see Cody prove that he is the captain now. I want to see it happen. I can't wait to see it happen. Thank you guys for hanging with us here on Raw Recap, brought to you by WWE and Fanatics. Don't forget to subscribe on all audio platforms. Spotify, Apple, wherever you get podcasts, watch it us on YouTube. On the WWE's YouTube channel. If you're watching, comment like subscribe ratings and reviews on the audio platforms. We'll see you next week.