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- [00:01]
A
An absolutely classic World Heavyweight Championship match between CM Punk and Finn Balor. Adam Pierce is at his wits end with the Vision. Becky lynch has another Intercontinental Championship Match, and so much more. This is the Raw recap of WWE and Fanatics original production. Oh, Megan. What a Monday Night Raw.
- [00:31]
B
How about it?
- [00:32]
A
From Belfast, Ireland, first at the top. I want to say that we're all, we're all thinking about Javon Evans.
- [00:38]
B
Yes, we are.
- [00:39]
A
Who they had to stop his match with the El Grande Americano earlier tonight. Obviously, he's not going to be a part of the Raw recap tonight. I know he's being evaluated by the medical team at wwe and hopefully by next week we find out more about what's going on with Javon Evans. But we're all hoping for the best. We all that said, Monday Night Raw, I would imagine behind the scenes is a disorganized mess.
- [01:05]
B
Yeah.
- [01:05]
A
And the reason for that is because at some point, the general manager of Monday Night Raw became a highly emotional, some might say vindictive human being who will stop at nothing to get at the Vision. To the point where, like, if I'm on that show and I'm not in the vision, can you imagine, like, knocking on Adam Pierce's office door and then realizing he's sitting at ringside for the match?
- [01:38]
B
I mean, he had a lot of people who are looking for him. The new day included in that. You know, I was wondering if Adam Pierce was going to come out and we're going to get to this later with Natalia attacking Maxine Dupree. But no, AJ Styles, we'll get to.
- [01:51]
A
That later as well. Yeah.
- [01:53]
B
Adam Pierce preoccupied with Paul Heyman in the Vision.
- [01:56]
A
I mean, I've gotta say, you know, I, I, I do think that when you look at this battle between Adam Pierce and the Vision, it feels like Adam Pierce is being led astray by his emotions. Because every time you see an interaction between Paul Heyman and Adam Pierce, who appears to be by the end of the conversation, maybe you don't get it at the beginning of the conversation, but, but by the end of the conversation, who appears to be in complete control?
- [02:24]
B
Paul Heyman. But here's the thing with Paul Heyman, he knows exactly which buttons to push.
- [02:29]
A
I mean, I loved in which phone calls to arrange. I want to know who was on the other end of the.
- [02:34]
B
Right.
- [02:35]
A
That was really. And it's so funny, like, the world of professional wrestling is supposed to be an escape for a lot of us. You know, we plunked down in front of the TV and these stories play out in front of our eyes. But anybody that's ever been involved in any sort of corporate, anything at work has seen like their boss getting yelled at by their boss above them in this corporate political like, interplay happening. And it's so stressful. And that's what I get with all of this Adam Pearce stuff. Like, Adam Pearce is trying to control things on Monday night Raw, but he's so far out of control. So you see, like in the match, right, you had Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee and Penta, which is a nuts insane trios tag team versus the Vision. And I'm telling you, like in my mind, I'm wondering how far this goes with Paul Heyman manipulating everything. Because it seems like with the Vision and we saw this play through, obviously Bron Breaker wasn't on Raw tonight because he's suspended, I guess, but he was invited to Raw next week, so. So how suspended could he possibly be?
- [03:42]
B
It depends who is on the phone.
- [03:43]
A
That's right, that's right. But Paul Heyman has the Vision now to the point where he's in complete control. Even more so, I would say Paul Heyman is more in control of the Vision than he was even in control of the bloodline. Like, I don't know that we've ever seen Paul Heyman with this kind of control over these kind of high level people. I'm talking about Bron Breaker and, and Austin Theory and Logan, Paul and Bronson Reed. Like all these people that were earmarked for success early, somehow they're completely falling in line. I mean, this is like when you look at how in step the members of the Vision are with whatever Paul Heyman says, it's like it's the ECW roster.
- [04:34]
B
Well, it's wild that you say that. He has more power and more control over the Vision than he ever did with the bloodline. Because when you think back to the bloodline, ultimately Paul Heyman still had to answer to Roman.
- [04:44]
A
That's right. Yes, my tribal chief.
- [04:46]
B
Who does Paul Heyman have to answer to now?
- [04:48]
A
I don't think any. Nobody.
- [04:49]
B
Not even Adam Pierce?
- [04:50]
A
Nobody. Especially since Seth left.
- [04:53]
B
That's right.
- [04:54]
A
Like this has now become like, no, no, no, no, no. This is Paul Heyman's vision that now matches the Vision. Paul Heyman's vision is wrapped around these four Superstars being in control of the wwe. And so for these four Superstars, they're like, yeah, that vision sounds really great to me. And you know what, let's take it right now. And I'm watching, right? And I'm seeing Adam Pierce. It's one thing for Paul Heyman to be distracting a referee, but for Paul Heyman and Adam Pierce to be bickering on the apron, distracting the referee in the middle of the match, I'm like, Adam Pearce has totally lost the plot.
- [05:33]
B
There was one moment where I thought, oh, my gosh, Paul Heyman is going to bait Adam Pierce into putting hands on him.
- [05:42]
A
And then while the referee is distracted, and then Adam Pierce and Paul Heyman are distracting him. Now they also. They have everybody in the Vision has, like, Adam Pierce just spinning and spinning around in circles. Every time this guy's focused on another member, somebody behind his back, it's like the Little Rascals, except violent. Somebody behind his back is doing something else where, like, you see Austin Theory get the brass knuckles slipped to him. And I'm telling you, I believe that those brass knuckles were not slipped to Austin Theory so that Austin Theory could win that match. I don't even think that Paul Heyman necessarily cared that they lost the match to Ray Penta and Dragon Lee. I don't feel like on this night for the Vision, that that was the primary objective.
- [06:32]
B
The primary objective was to get to Pierce and make sure Bron Breakker can come back to Monday Night Raw.
- [06:37]
A
Because when they slipped Austin Theory, the Knucks and Adam Pierce found them, he physically got involved again. He physically got involved in the match and physically took those brass knuckles and out of Austin Theory's hand.
- [06:54]
B
So technically, once again, put hands on.
- [06:57]
A
A member of the Vision.
- [06:58]
B
That's right.
- [06:59]
A
So he's already, like, at ringside for this match, which is showing too much interest in this group. Then he's putting his hands on Austin Theory, where Paul Heyman's like, I don't know where the brass knuckles came from. I don't like. Like, there's so much plausible deniability created in this winding road that has Adam Pearce doing exactly what Paul Heyman wants him to do. To the point that you're right. I think Paul Heyman was willing to take a punch tonight because he knew that would be checkmate.
- [07:29]
B
Paul Heyman is playing Adam Pierce like a fiddle.
- [07:32]
A
I do, to your point, want to know who's he talking to? Because he said in the beginning of the show, nobody called you. Nobody called you. Like, who's. Who's calling Adam Pearce? Is it. Is there who. I don't even know how the corporate structure works with GMs of Monday night Raw. Is it Triple H? Is it somebody in the Gorilla Position from Unreal. Is it the board of directors? I don't know, but I want to know, like, who? Because somebody shook up Adam Pierce. Because all of a sudden he goes, well, yeah, why don't you have Bron Breaker come back to Monday Night Raw next week and we can talk?
- [08:07]
B
And then Paul's like, oh, because of the phone call? This has nothing to do with the phone call. According to Pierce.
- [08:12]
A
Yeah, Right.
- [08:12]
B
Interesting how everything seemed to change as soon as that phone call came through.
- [08:16]
A
I mean, that's like the rule in sales, right? Or in any negotiation, whoever talks first loses. So Bron Breaker gets suspended. Fine, I'm suspended. I'm going home. And then it's the. It's Adam Pierce going, hey, would you like to come back? All of a sudden, Bron Breaker is in this position of power. And I think when I'm looking at it, I don't know how exactly it's going to end up, but being in a position of power on the road to the Royal Rumble, on The road to WrestleMania is the absolute best time in the WWE to be in a position of power.
- [08:57]
B
Yeah. I mean, this is the most important time of the year for WWE Superstars. What better time is it to be in a position of power? What better time is it to have leverage heading into the Royal Rumble?
- [09:07]
A
Leverage is the word. Like, think about all the doors that'll open. And with everybody declaring for the Rumble, does the vision get to just sit there and go, like, yeah, all four of us? Because, you know, I mean, they say every man for himself, but I don't recall, at least in the short period of time that they've been around. Like, even when we had Austin Theory on the show, there was no. It's a complete. And a lot of factions will say this, but it's clearly not true. But it's a complete all for one, one for all mentality where there is a mission. Truly, I think of all four of those guys, and none of them have declared for the Rumble. But if all four of them were to be in the Rumble, there'd be one mission that all four of them were working on achieving.
- [09:48]
B
Yes.
- [09:49]
A
And I think that if anybody can pull it off, it's them.
- [09:52]
B
And based on their actions, I have no doubt in that. Now, a couple weeks ago, Right. I would say I'm not so sure I can see Logan Paul's a team player. I'm not so sure I can see all of these people coexisting. In fact, I even said that right here on this show.
- [10:05]
A
I can't see them after the title match. You said it.
- [10:07]
B
But a week later, I go, oh, no, the vision is unified. The vision is all for one.
- [10:15]
A
I mean, why wouldn't Adam Pierce just, like, see, there's a chess game happening and I'm playing checkers?
- [10:21]
B
Because he's leading with his emotions.
- [10:23]
A
He is, he. You can't do that in a position of power. Get yourself into trouble every time, every time. Especially with somebody like Paul Heyman who can smell those out and go, oh, I can manipulate those. I can make you do crazy. And then you're looking back and you're looking at, like, the show going, like, why would I have done all that stuff? How did that even happen? That's the power, man. There were a couple things too, about the match itself. First of all, like seeing Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee and Penta teaming together on Raw. We say it every time that Ray steps in the ring, but at this point in his career, it should be said every time Ray steps in the ring, should. The rate at which that superstar hall of Famer is still wrestling. I mean, you forget how long he's been around because he's timeless. Because of the mask, it turns into this total other thing. Like, it almost is like, well, there's human beings and then there's Rey Mysterio.
- [11:23]
B
No, I think that that is how.
- [11:24]
A
It is because the action backs it up, right? Yes, it's, it was, I mean, unbelievable. There was that one moment, the sort of the, the, the, the triple plancha to the outside where they all kind of lined up, the three of them.
- [11:39]
B
And went over the road right to break after. That is so good.
- [11:42]
A
Yeah, yeah. And, I mean, and, and, and a, a, a huge win. Regardless of all the tom foolery that was going on with Adam Pierce and brass knuckles and this and that. I thought it was smart that the luchadors were like, well, I mean, whatever. Like all these guys are worried about all this other stuff. Let's just focus on winning the match.
- [12:01]
B
Yeah, let's take the brass knuckles and win the match. End the thing.
- [12:03]
A
And that's what we did. And then also something that, like, really? I was like, huh? This is something that deserves to be mentioned, is that Logan Paul is just wrestling on Raw and Belfast about that. That's another thing. I think we both talked about it only a few months ago when Logan Paul was running around being like, I'm a full time wrestler. And you and I were both like, can you just say that? Like, you could just say you're a full time Wrestler you don't have to be on. You would think that your actions would prove that because he was not on television every week, he was just saying he's a full time wrestler. I think both of us were like, I don't think he's a full time wrestler.
- [12:44]
B
No. If you're not wrestling on a Monday Night Raw middle of the show, I don't think you're a full time wrestler.
- [12:49]
A
But like right under everybody's nose. And I feel like people just take it for granted. Now he's a full time wrestler. He's just wrestling on Raw in a six man tag in Belfast.
- [12:59]
B
It hit me when his, his music played.
- [13:02]
A
Right.
- [13:04]
B
I know, because typically when we hear the start of Logan Paul's music, we go, oh, he's back to ruin something.
- [13:11]
A
Right? That's a good point. Yes, yes, yes.
- [13:13]
B
Logan Paul is here. Oh, boo.
- [13:17]
A
Yes.
- [13:17]
B
But in this case, this was a Monday night Raw match and this is.
- [13:22]
A
Where he should be.
- [13:22]
B
Yeah, right.
- [13:23]
A
This is where he's been every week. And I don't know, I mean, I feel like he might be the first celebrity to have come in as sort of a novelty celebrity wrestler that would just come in and then, you know, there have been other celebrities that will come in and out and do their thing. But I can't remember another celebrity that started as a celebrity wrestler and then became a full time wrestler right under everybody's nose to the point where it's like, that's. And people, especially somebody like Logan Paul, that nobody wanted here to begin with. And like. And he knows it's a nightmare for most wrestling fans to say that's WWE Superstar Logan Paul. But there's no falsities in that statement.
- [14:06]
B
Not right now there's not.
- [14:07]
A
And it's upsetting to a lot of people.
- [14:10]
B
And a lot of people still want to go, no, he's not a full timer. No, he's still an outsider. But if Logan Paul keeps showing up and having matches on Monday Night Raw, what else can you say about it?
- [14:19]
A
I mean, I watched a YouTube video of a five year old that was doing an entrance for the WWE and Logan Paul called him an outsider and said he was tired of all these outsiders coming into wwe, coming into his industry.
- [14:31]
B
It's ridiculous.
- [14:32]
A
I mean, and a part of me wonders if he decided to become a full time wrestler so that he can call out other people for being outsiders, so he can call out the jelly rolls and so on for being outsiders, when that's exactly who he was five.
- [14:48]
B
Minutes ago, not long ago at all.
- [14:49]
A
I know.
- [14:50]
B
Or because Paul Heyman presented him with an opportunity, and Logan Paul wants to capitalize on it.
- [14:55]
A
I mean, it is interesting when you go back. Cause it's like Logan Paul had that thing with CM Punk where for a second, it looked like he and Punk may be on the same side.
- [15:03]
B
Yes.
- [15:04]
A
And then he turned on Punk and then he sided with Division, and that was like November, I want to say, because it was starting to lead up to elimination chamber. I'm sorry. War Games. And then the thought was that he'd be on the team for War Games. And then all of a sudden. No. He's a part of the vision.
- [15:20]
B
I know. I thought he'd come for War Games, go away, come back for Royal Rumble, and then be around for the build to WrestleMania.
- [15:27]
A
Yeah.
- [15:27]
B
Logan Paul's around every week.
- [15:29]
A
It might have been wishful thinking on your part. I don't know if.
- [15:32]
B
Right.
- [15:32]
A
Yeah.
- [15:33]
B
I don't know if we need Adam Pierce. Definitely.
- [15:34]
A
Absolutely. I can't wait to see what happens there. But speaking of CM Punk, we got an absolute classic. So good to main event. This thing. Finn Balor.
- [15:45]
B
Old school music.
- [15:46]
A
Old school music. Old school entrance. That sounded exactly like me tonight when.
- [15:53]
B
I was getting ready to come here, I knew this is the main event, and I was thinking, oh, I'm so excited to see Finn Balor in the main event. I don't remember the last time I saw Finn Balor in a main event singles match.
- [16:04]
A
No. And he promised.
- [16:05]
B
I don't remember it.
- [16:06]
A
And he promised the Prince.
- [16:07]
B
Yes.
- [16:08]
A
And that's who he gave us.
- [16:10]
B
So happy.
- [16:10]
A
And, you know, Michael Cole and Corey Graves told the story on Commentary that this was. You're. Cause you're right. There's been so much going on with the Judgment Day and so much sort of turmoil and. And. And. And things that go on backstage and. And. And inner group dynamics that you forget who the Prince was. You forget the first NXT run. You forget the second NXT run. When he came back to NXT as the Prince. You forget about him winning the Universal Championship. You forget about the impact that he had on the main roster early on. Like, you forget about Finn Balor, and it's the biggest mistake you could make. I was so glad that Balor was on Cody's podcast and they were talking about his past and the impact that he's had on the industry at large.
- [16:58]
B
Yeah.
- [16:59]
A
Because he's changed the industry, and you would never know it because he doesn't talk about it. He's just living in today. And for him, today was a world heavyweight championship match in Belfast, Ireland.
- [17:11]
B
And.
- [17:12]
A
And I mean, they were going nuts for the Prince. It's rare these days that CM Punk gets booed, but it was, yeah, boos the whole night. Yaz for the Prince, Yass for the Prince. Finn Balor boos for CM Punk, which.
- [17:29]
B
Is insane to think about every arena we've been in, Sam, since CM Punk returned a few years ago at Survivor Series, the entire building echoes CM Punk chants, whether CM Punk is in the building or not.
- [17:42]
A
I mean, the entire building was echoing CM Punk punk chants for the 10 years before he came back, too. But, like, you're right. Like, there is still. With Punk, There is still, to this day, even though he's been back for two years, there is still this idea of when you're in the building, you look at this guy and you're like, I can't believe he's back. This is amazing. This is so exciting. Except what was more exciting for Ireland, I think, was we get to see Finn Balor in a world heavyweight title match. And I mean, and wrestling at a tippity, tippity top level, you know what I mean? Reminding people, and I've said this before, that Finn Balor is this rare case where he can be doing whatever else on the roster. He could be teaming with JD McDonough. He can be playing 2K in the judgment Day clubhouse as himself. As himself. As he should. If I were Finn Balor, I would play as myself, too. Look at those abs. He's the only guy who. There's a render of him on a video game, and he's like, I actually look a little better in person. Like, it's incredible, this guy. But, like, he could be doing any of that. He could just, like, put his feet up for months and then go like, okay, today's the day. Let me go remind everybody that I'm one of the best to have ever done this. And he does, and he did it tonight. This is what. That's what tonight was. And we were in there and you were saying, I don't remember the last time Finn Balor had a big singles match. Don't remember, you know, and then. But then you see him and there's nothing out of place about it.
- [19:09]
B
And I'm like, why doesn't he have more big singles matches? I like this, right?
- [19:13]
A
I mean.
- [19:14]
B
I mean, there was the moment when he hits the coup de grace, and you think, you know, he had. He had Punk for two. And you're like, oh, what if? What if?
- [19:22]
A
I mean, I know the answer because I was in the room with you. Did you have moments where you were like, it's happening.
- [19:27]
B
Yes.
- [19:28]
A
Battler's getting it. Yes, I know you did.
- [19:30]
B
Just a few moments where, like, your heart drops and the late. The late kick out or late shoulder comes up and you go, maybe.
- [19:37]
A
Maybe he had those moments where he'd hit you with the gun that, like, whatever it's called, where he goes for the sleeper and slams you down. The drop kick with the two, you know, where he lands on his back going into the corner, and he's so. I mean, the way this dude moves when he kicks you into the corner, and as you're coming off of the corner, he doesn't take that moment to, like, wait until you are on the mat and then look at the crowd and go, should I do it, gang? Should I do. Yeah, okay, let me get out of the ring and go to the top rope. It's like every. It's like this fluid, poetic motion where he kicks you, you hit the turnbuckles as you're falling down on the. On your back. He's already leaving the ring to get to the top rope.
- [20:16]
B
And I'm watching it, already knows it's happening. It's happening, it's happening. Finn Balor is going to be the new World Heavyweight Champion.
- [20:21]
A
And the reason is because the speed that it's all happening, like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. And then he hits that coup de grass perfectly. And it really was this, like, what if? But what if is where it ends.
- [20:32]
B
Those what if moments are my favorite thing about professional wrestling. My favorite part.
- [20:37]
A
Well, that's. Yeah. And the best is that, like, all you need is one to actually happen. And then that will take you for the next several months of seeing it everywhere. Like, the minute Drew McIntyre beat Cody Rhodes in three stages of hell, now everything is like, it could happen. It would never happen, but it could happen. No, they would never. But they did this. You know what I mean? And it completely changes the dynamic, and I think it changed the dynamic of tonight. You know, I think there were also, like, there were a lot of ways that you could go in terms of, you know, you could bring out the Judgment Day here. You could have a foreign object or a DQ or chicanery or tomfoolery or whatever it was. But the fact that it was like, once again, CM Punk just catches that one moment, and on that night, for that one moment, he got the three, and that's what he needed. And CM Punk retains the title. Kind of the same way he did with Bron Breaker.
- [21:37]
B
I was just gonna say that. Now. Now, there were outside interference with the Bron Breaker match. The Vision got involved and, you know, the Luches. But that almost canceled. Yeah, that canceled out. And then it was that one moment that CM Punk bested Bron Breakker. And CM Punk still your World Heavyweight Champion, Right.
- [21:54]
A
The Bron Breakker one. It was just a matter of getting the knee up when Braun went for the last spear. And then that knee led to the. Go to sleep. And the same thing tonight. It was almost like, oh, oh. And then all of a sudden, before you even realize it, Finn Balor is up on Dude Shoulders. And then, boom.
- [22:11]
B
And we all know how that ends.
- [22:13]
A
1, 2, 3. CM Punk wins. And it's like, you know, of course you're gonna, like, have all these what if? Moments and fantasy booking and everything going on in your head, but ultimately. And I think it's very interesting for Punk because Punk's title reign that he has right now is not necessarily one that anybody expected.
- [22:32]
B
No.
- [22:33]
A
Or even that probably WWE expected. Cause the only reason it's happening most likely is because Seth Rollins went down with an injury. And so things changed. And all of a sudden, CM Punk was the World Heavyweight Champion. And it's like. And because it happened so quickly and out of the blue, you almost go, well, what the moment of Punk being champion is like, this is so cool. And the story at first is, wow, after all this time, who you didn't even think he would ever be back. And now CM Punk is the man and he's the World Heavyweight Champion. And that's great. But what is the story of the reign? What is. What defines CM Punk's title reign? And I think the answer to that question is finishes. Like we see in matches like this, in matches with Bron Breaker, where it's not about, you know, chicanery, it's not about interference. It's not about, you know, an angle or pushing the story this way. It's about. Right. It's about outsmarting in this moment, on this night. It's about the fact that CM Punk. That something happens when you've been wrestling as long as CM Punk has. Corey Graves talked about it on commentary at the beginning of the match. He talked about CM Punk's wrestling psychology and the fact that he can solve puzzles that he doesn't even know exist yet. And I think that that is how you have to define this title reign for CM Punk, that he finds that one opening, that one thing that he needs it's not about this formulaic, systematic, you know, beat down and ripping apart. It's about, oh, there was the opening.
- [24:15]
B
And finding a way to capitalize. That's right, because the opening can come at any point for a match. And most superstars can't capitalize on the moment. And once the moment is gone, it's gone. You don't get that moment back. But CM Punk, throughout his title reign, capitalizes on all those moments, and that leads to him retaining his title.
- [24:32]
A
Yeah. And it's also about his ability to survive, just to keep fighting and keep fighting. There's maybe there's very few wrestlers that have that reputation as much as Punk, where you can just throw anything at them, and they're gonna find a way. They're just scrappy. They're gonna keep fighting and fighting and survive long enough. Where, to your point, they're still alive when that opening comes. Cause you're right. When's it gonna come? If it's going to come later in the match, guess what? I'm going to have to survive long enough. I'm going to have to kick out of this coup de grace. I'm going to have to do this, I'm going to have to do that. And sometimes that opening comes because people are like, what do I have to do to this guy? And just as you're thinking that, that's the one moment you let your guard down. I got my knee up, I got my forearm in. Whatever it is, you're on my shoulders now. And it's night night.
- [25:20]
B
And really, for Punk, his whole career has been about surviving.
- [25:23]
A
That's right.
- [25:24]
B
Finding a way.
- [25:25]
A
Yes. Yes. Well, Becky lynch also found a way tonight.
- [25:30]
B
You know, I'm so glad you brought her up.
- [25:32]
A
Well. Well, a lot of people have new merch available at Fanatics and WWE Shop. First of all, AJ Styles. AJ Styles who we also have to talk about tonight. AJ Styles who. I mean, this may be his last.
- [25:49]
B
Line of merchant, especially after what we learned.
- [25:52]
A
This could be the end of AJ Styles, but he apparently will still be phenomenal forever. AJ Styles has a new collection of anory anniversary merchandise available. It's now at WWE Shop. It's on Fanatics. It's including a 10th anniversary signature series title. You can get that AJ Styles championship with a custom strap, custom plates. This title is a must have for any belt Collector and any A.J. styles collector, of course. You got the shirts, the hoodie, the long sleeve, the hat, everything. Hard to believe it's been 10 years in the WWE, but the Royal Rumble is AJ Styles event and then of course Becky Lynch.
- [26:31]
B
I ordered mine already.
- [26:33]
A
Of course you did.
- [26:34]
B
You.
- [26:35]
A
No, I was hoping I get a free. A freebie or something.
- [26:37]
B
Of course. Typical scam, Roberts. Becky lynch looking to beat the system.
- [26:42]
A
Is still the man and just dropped a new T shirt. Head over to WWE Shop and Fanatics and rep her magazine cover T shirt today. Of course, people should know it's a great T shirt. If you're a fan of Becky lynch, you should pick it up. It is a forged magazine cover. She wasn't really on the COVID of that magazine.
- [27:01]
B
I should be doing these. These reads for Becky Lynch.
- [27:03]
A
You think so?
- [27:04]
B
Yes.
- [27:05]
A
Okay, well maybe next time. Maybe next time. Grab the shirts. You could be like Megan if you want to dress like Megan. And who doesn't? You're an icon, right?
- [27:13]
B
Thank you. Thank you.
- [27:14]
A
WWE Shop and fanatics.
- [27:16]
B
I heard that they're already record breaking sales for this Becky lynch shirt.
- [27:19]
A
What?
- [27:19]
B
Record records of all of the sales.
- [27:22]
A
Okay, good.
- [27:23]
B
More shirts. Fanatics has already said this is the. The. The best selling T shirt that they've ever had.
- [27:31]
A
Fanatics said that? Where?
- [27:34]
B
It's all over.
- [27:35]
A
Oh, I guess I'll just check then.
- [27:37]
B
Yeah, it's all over. All over the Internet, Everywhere.
- [27:40]
A
The trades.
- [27:42]
B
Yeah, all the trades. Everything. Yeah.
- [27:44]
A
Wow. Well then you don't want to miss out. You don't want to. I mean, got to get there.
- [27:47]
B
You got to get your hands on this shirt. They're going to fly off the shelves.
- [27:49]
A
Apparently. They already are.
- [27:50]
B
You.
- [27:51]
A
What do you mean? What do you mean they're going to fly off the shelves? You said that they've already broken record breaking sales already or they're going to be record already.
- [27:58]
B
Oh, and then it's probably going to break her own record. I got the whole control room shirts, everybody.
- [28:03]
A
You got them. So the record breaking sales are mainly going to the Morant house.
- [28:08]
B
I got your family some too.
- [28:09]
A
They don't need them.
- [28:11]
B
They're going to love them.
- [28:12]
A
She said unkind things about members of my family. The small ones.
- [28:16]
B
Horrible children.
- [28:16]
A
That's what she said. Well, you didn't have to say that. That's what she said. But that's what she said. Regardless, they're. They are available right there. I got another one. They are available.
- [28:24]
B
You bring a backup pen to the show in case you accidentally just throw it on the ground.
- [28:29]
A
Honestly, that was rage. Honestly, that was pretty cool that I was able to pull another one just like that, wasn't it?
- [28:34]
B
It was like a magic trick.
- [28:35]
A
Thank you.
- [28:35]
B
Yeah.
- [28:36]
A
Becky Lynch T Shirt available now at.
- [28:38]
B
Wwe gets you all fired up. You're throwing pens all over the studio and fanatics. Relax. When you take a deep breath, relax.
- [28:45]
A
You're right. You're right. If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why, hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift. And you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Becky lynch did defeat Maxine Dupree.
- [29:21]
B
Heck yeah.
- [29:22]
A
Tonight. I mean, there is a story to tell around that victory. You think it's just kind of.
- [29:29]
B
No. I actually saw on Twitter before we came on the show that once again, Pierce, as we know, can't be trusted.
- [29:36]
A
He has been having a rough couple.
- [29:38]
B
Weeks with not just the vision of Paul Heyman with Becky lynch and many others on the roster as well, but he called for a specific camera angle.
- [29:46]
A
And that camera angle he's calling the camera angles.
- [29:48]
B
I mean, he's the general manager. He's in charge of the whole show. So he called for a specific.
- [29:52]
A
He's in the truck. I thought he was in his office.
- [29:54]
B
Well, no, he was ringside. But during Becky's match Truck.
- [29:58]
A
Wow.
- [29:58]
B
He called for a specific camera angle.
- [30:01]
A
Right.
- [30:01]
B
That missed that. Becky got her shoulder up.
- [30:03]
A
Is that true?
- [30:04]
B
It is.
- [30:04]
A
He's got to get better about delegating.
- [30:06]
B
I know.
- [30:07]
A
So, yeah, that.
- [30:08]
B
I saw that on. On Becky Lynch's Twitter. Okay.
- [30:11]
A
All right, So I didn't realize that that was where you. Okay, well, that's fine then.
- [30:16]
B
So it was good that Natty got her foot on the rope, but Becky did have the shoulder, so she didn't need the help anyways.
- [30:21]
A
So regardless of if the foot was on the rope, she. The pin wouldn't have counted.
- [30:25]
B
Yeah, we can talk to Danilo about it. I'm sure he thought excellent referee.
- [30:28]
A
Yeah, I've heard good things, but he'll only do shows if you pay him to do them.
- [30:31]
B
That's true.
- [30:33]
A
He's very cheap. Yeah. Listen, first of all, Maxine Dupree has been getting better and better every single week.
- [30:44]
B
She has.
- [30:44]
A
And let me tell you something, my jaw is on the ground every time she hits that, like, delayed kip up, you know, when she like kicks her feet up and then she comes up, but she's still arched back and just slowly, like, cranks up. It's amazing the control that this human being has. It's. It's. It's unbelievable.
- [31:00]
B
She does it. I'm like, is she going to get up? Yeah. Make it.
- [31:03]
A
Yeah.
- [31:03]
B
Delivers every time.
- [31:04]
A
It's unbelievable. The muscle control is crazy. Natalia, her trainer, she's been going to the dungeon. She's been getting better. She was on this show talking about how, like, how much it's helped becoming a regular student at Natalia's school at the dungeon.
- [31:22]
B
I mean, these two were tag team partners.
- [31:24]
A
They were tag team partners.
- [31:25]
B
I have a shirt that says Dungeon Dolls, and it has Maxine and Natalia.
- [31:28]
A
You have that shirt.
- [31:29]
B
Have it.
- [31:30]
A
Does Becky know you have that shirt?
- [31:32]
B
I don't. Haven't told her yet.
- [31:33]
A
Okay, well, let's clip it.
- [31:35]
B
Don't clip it.
- [31:36]
A
Clip it.
- [31:36]
B
Please don't clip it.
- [31:37]
A
Let's clip it.
- [31:38]
B
You know, we all. We all have a past.
- [31:39]
A
Control room has let me know. Becky does know now.
- [31:41]
B
Yes. When she was in the Dungeon Dolls, this was before she was moody. So I get a pass.
- [31:46]
A
She's moody now.
- [31:47]
B
Maxine's very moody right now.
- [31:49]
A
Oh, okay. Well.
- [31:50]
B
Which is potentially why Natalia did what she did.
- [31:52]
A
Well, I'd be in a bad mood if Natalia did that to me too.
- [31:55]
B
Everybody would, Right?
- [31:57]
A
Okay, so Natalia's there on Raw. She's like, I'm gonna come out with you to make sure that Becky lynch doesn't do the underhanded things this week that she did last week, specifically hooking the rope on her way over, you know, to cover Maxine.
- [32:12]
B
This was a big ask because it's not like, you know, they're. They're down the street. Like, Natalia flew all the way.
- [32:17]
A
Yeah.
- [32:18]
B
To Ireland.
- [32:19]
A
She stamped her passport to get this done. Yeah, yeah. So she's there, shows up to ringside, and of course. And we saw those training videos, too. Don't forget that black and white footage.
- [32:30]
B
Intensity.
- [32:30]
A
Yeah. Maxine getting mean. So Natalia's out there at ringside watching her back. Eventually. I. I didn't realize the. By the way, I will give, I think, Becky credit. It was Becky did the superplex on Maxine that then rolled through into a ddt.
- [32:50]
B
Pretty slick.
- [32:51]
A
That was. That was a slick. That was. I was gonna say it was sick, but Becky would prefer that was sick. It was great. Slick. Sorry. That was. That was slick. But Maxine, it would appear, had her beat.
- [33:05]
B
I don't know about that.
- [33:06]
A
I was watching the Pierce camera angle.
- [33:09]
B
I didn't see it.
- [33:10]
A
So you should have Watched.
- [33:11]
B
I didn't.
- [33:12]
A
But you should have watched. It was your responsibility. But as she's got Becky lynch covered, we see Natalia put Becky's foot on the rope and just stare right at Maxine. And Maxi, look at that. And Maxine goes, why would you do that? And look at the. Look at the. Of the head of Natalia going, like, yes, I did that.
- [33:38]
B
What are you gonna do with so much confidence? And look at the way she's crossing her arms and just the smirk on her face.
- [33:45]
A
And this goes back to the emotions, too. This goes back to the taking advantage of people who are going to get emotional about this stuff. Like, Maxine's head was completely out of the game at that point. Like, you look at this, and this is not a person that is wrestling the intercontinental champion anymore. This is a person who is focused on being betrayed by Natalia, who's on the outside of the ring. And Natalia just looking right at her going, like, I did that, and I'm glad I did that.
- [34:12]
B
I mean, it's so difficult, right? We've been through friend breakups before. I mean, at least I've been through friend breakups before. If you have a friend turn their back on you, I mean, that hurts more than any, you know, romantic relationship that's. That's thrown away. These two have been together since Maxine came into wwe. And Maxine was, you know, she was. She was very upfront about the fact that she's been learning sort of on the job. And Natty's been a huge part to Maxine learning. When she sat down with us at Madison Square Garden, she talked so much about Natalia. The fact that the person who trained her stabbed her in the back, that cuts deep.
- [34:47]
A
You've had that happen to you a lot.
- [34:48]
B
Friend breakups every now and then.
- [34:51]
A
Sounds bad.
- [34:52]
B
Never. You've never had a friend breakup? Never. Once.
- [34:55]
A
Never. Nobody's on my side yet.
- [34:57]
B
No. People who want to be friends with you so far.
- [34:59]
A
Yeah, so far.
- [35:00]
B
So you're like a Natalia. You're just.
- [35:01]
A
I guess so. And then, lucky me, I guess, if that's the comparison you want to make. Yeah, I guess so. I guess so. And sometimes I will have to do this with people.
- [35:09]
B
I hope I'm not next in line.
- [35:11]
A
Maybe. Maybe. We'll see. We'll see how you do it happen.
- [35:14]
B
Live here on the show.
- [35:15]
A
That's when I would do it.
- [35:16]
B
I don't know. Last week I was your young and in the Sam Roberts coaching tree, and now you're talking about kicking me out.
- [35:21]
A
Well, I'm Just. Look, I think it's important to keep you on your toes, that's all. I don't want anybody to ever get too comfortable, especially under the Sam Roberts coaching tree. It's important. I'm going to start with a whistle.
- [35:32]
B
There's high expectations and, hey, maybe if.
- [35:34]
A
I'm the coach here, I should be wearing that sleeveless hoodie.
- [35:36]
B
Then you'd be like Bill Belichick, which might be a little creepy. Little creepy.
- [35:40]
A
Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. There's too much. There's. There's a lot going on there. But Natalia not only costing Maxine the match. Becky lynch coming out. Victoria. And to Becky Lynch's credit, she did take advantage of the distraction. Manhandle slam. One, two, three. And listen, I'm not going to say great things about Becky Lynch. You never do, nor should I.
- [36:05]
B
You should. I am a great female wrestler of all time. And you always just berate her.
- [36:10]
A
Who would say that?
- [36:11]
B
Sports Illustrated, Leisure Report, espn, Megan Morant.
- [36:16]
A
All except the last, I guess, are somewhat credible.
- [36:19]
B
But she's the voice of justice. Who is Becky Lynch?
- [36:23]
A
The voice of justice said. Why? What? Why would.
- [36:27]
B
She's been fighting all the injustice which you're a part of.
- [36:29]
A
Oh, I forgot.
- [36:31]
B
Huge part of.
- [36:32]
A
I'm a huge part of the injustice?
- [36:34]
B
Yes. Oh, because you spread lies. Like the fact that you're talking about Becky lynch cheating and using underhanded tactics.
- [36:44]
A
That's not true.
- [36:44]
B
All of these things, okay? You just don't give her the credit she deserves.
- [36:48]
A
Oh, okay. Well, you know, it's tough. She needs a lot of credit. Like, a lot.
- [36:53]
B
The greatest.
- [36:54]
A
I forgot. Yeah. And then we're going to go back into the cycle of Sports Illustrated in this one and the Bleacher Report.
- [36:59]
B
The Bleacher Report. Don't forget the. The.
- [37:01]
A
You got to. You got to remember, you got to title it correctly. So Becky hits that manhandle slam, gets outta dodge. Intercontinental title. And honestly, Maxine's the one that made the mistake here. Look, you can say what you want about what Natalia did, but Maxine got distracted the same way AJ Styles letting Gunther out of that calf crusher because he felt the tap, even though the referee never told him to let it go. That's AJ's mistake. Tonight was 100% Maxine's mistake. That's the second time in a row she has not been ready for Becky Lynch. I would not be sitting here eager to give Maxine a rematch. No, for what it's worth, she already.
- [37:39]
B
Got one that she didn't really deserve.
- [37:40]
A
Well, I don't know about that, but I will say that I am ready for another match with Maxine, because after Becky lynch gets out of town, Natalia gets in the ring, starts beating the stuffing.
- [37:53]
B
Yeah.
- [37:54]
A
And I mean, hammer fisting, hammer fisting. Poor Maxine Dupree. Maxine's on the ground, still trying to figure out why is my friend and trainer and confidant doing this to me. Maxine hits her back once, but then Natalia goes to town again. It's kick, it's punch, it's sharpshooter. It's this. Michael Cole and. And Corey Graves are trying to tell you what's going to come up next on Raw. Meanwhile, they're just watching, still in the ring.
- [38:17]
B
Natalia coming out to help Maxine.
- [38:19]
A
No, apparently Adam Pierce was too busy worried about the vision or something like that, because, I mean, poor Danilo was in there by himself, trying to be like, could you please stop? Could you please stop? And Natalia was like, no, I can't stop.
- [38:30]
B
He was getting rattled. His hair was all over the place.
- [38:32]
A
That's right. That's right. He still kind of looked like Eddie Munster. But regardless, I am really hoping that this opens the door for a new Natalia.
- [38:43]
B
I am, too.
- [38:45]
A
Maybe with one less syllable.
- [38:46]
B
We've been waiting.
- [38:47]
A
Yeah. Like, I mean, long time. Like, let's get that Loki legend in there. Let's see. What is that? Because Natalia is so. I mean, the storied career of Natalia in the wwe, and I feel like for a long time, Natalia has been in this position where it's like, yup, you're gonna. You're gonna make the new women even better. And that's kind of like, you know, your job. And then they go on to all the glory. At a point, you're going to want the glory for yourself. And I think that Natalia has finally gotten to that point where it's like, all of us, we're on here on this show week after week after week, talking about how much. How good Maxine Dupree is, how much better she's getting and better she's getting, how impressive she is, how impressive she was in this match, how impressive she was in that match. I would imagine it's very difficult for Natalia to be hearing all that and realizing that she can still do this to Maxine. She can still tie Maxine up into a pretzel. You know, I think. I think Natalia found a little stew heart in her, quite frankly, and going like, okay, all right, all right. Young and all right. You want to you want to see what we could do here? You want to see what we got here? She's going to bring her down to the basement, and you're going to hear screams coming from the pipes of that Calgary dungeon. I mean, I, I, I, I love this side of Natalia. For Natalia.
- [40:12]
B
And you think back to the very first interaction between Becky lynch and Maxine Dupri, and it was, it was Natalia stepping up to Becky lynch and telling Becky lynch that she had changed and she didn't like the way she talked to Nikki Bella. And Natalia was, was. Was standing up for the entire women's locker room. And Becky said, okay, fine, you're on next week. And Natty was ready to take the match. And she looked beyond Natty, pointed at Maxine and said, no. How about you, sweet cheeks? So once again, Natalia passed over for an opportunity for Maxine Dupree. Tonight, Natalia took matters into her own hands.
- [40:47]
A
I guess that is a great point. Right? Because when this whole thing began, the idea was that Becky lynch was like, let's just call it what it is. Becky lynch was calling Maxine Dupree out because she was easier to beat than Natalia.
- [41:03]
B
That was a long time ago.
- [41:04]
A
Right. This was months and months and months and months and months ago.
- [41:07]
B
This was when Becky lynch cut the promo of the year where she said, you can't see him anymore.
- [41:12]
A
I mean, yeah.
- [41:12]
B
And then it was backstage and Natalia standing up for Nikki Bella. This was, this was back when Nikki Bella, before she, before she was, you know, destroying, you know, trying to destroy the champion's leg and wearing green and.
- [41:25]
A
Silver and all of those things.
- [41:27]
B
This was, this was a different Nikki Bella, but Natalia pre Philly. Yes.
- [41:31]
A
Yes.
- [41:31]
B
This was Natalia sticking up for all of the women's locker room.
- [41:36]
A
Yeah. And Becky choosing Maxine over Natalia and.
- [41:41]
B
Calling her sweet cheeks.
- [41:42]
A
Sweet cheeks. You remember that one? You called Maxine sweet cheeks for months.
- [41:46]
B
After that before Maxine was moody.
- [41:48]
A
No, but it did. It did start that road that resulted in Maxine becoming the Intercontinental champion. So you're right. Maybe there is a part of Natalia that's like, well, like, I would love to be the Intercontinental Champion. I would have loved that opportunity that you got. And instead, I have to be the one training you so you can get that opportunity. I'm not ready to go into that role yet.
- [42:07]
B
And the reason that you got the opportunity was because Becky thought that you'd be an easier road than me.
- [42:13]
A
Right? Right. Well, I'll tell you what's a road. We should all be going down the road to Topps Universe wwe. Have you heard about Topps Universe wwe? It's making its hobby debut. It's a bold com inspired take on WWE collecting features. A massive 300 card base set, hall of Famers, current champions, rising prospects, a stunning galactic patterns and vibrant color. Parallels that bring every superstar to life. By the way, every hobby box guarantees two autographs and one relic. So you get big hits in every single rip. Which I'll tell you. My best friend, Triple H, who I rip packs with.
- [42:55]
B
Hope you don't have a friend breakup with him.
- [42:57]
A
That would never happen. We're too close. But that would be.
- [43:00]
B
Called you getting fired.
- [43:03]
A
You would call it that. But I don't. I don't. I don't think that we're going to have a friend breakup, especially in that respect anytime soon. Especially when he finds out about Topps Universe wwe. Because he's going to be like, I want to rip these packs with my buddy Sam. Not I want to have a friendship breakup and fire him to your question. But I'm glad you asked. Don't forget about the chase. Short printed inserts highlighting iconic storylines, rivalries and unforgettable WWE moments. Whether you're hunting grails or building a rainbow, Tops Universe WWE is your ringside seat to the hobby's next heavyweight release. Find Tops universe WWE on tops.com and in stores on January 30th.
- [43:46]
B
I would love it if you got replaced by Becky. Just saying.
- [43:49]
A
Of course you would.
- [43:50]
B
Yeah.
- [43:50]
A
Hang out with her every week.
- [43:52]
B
She's a little busy on Mondays, but it. It'd be great for me.
- [43:55]
A
I'm not that busy. Listen, you know who may not be very busy at all on Mondays, depending on how things go at the end of the month.
- [44:03]
B
Oh my God. Don't say it. Don't say it.
- [44:08]
A
AJ Styles, the phenomenal one.
- [44:09]
B
I'm so upset that AJ has agreed to this.
- [44:13]
A
He had to. Gunther. Once again.
- [44:16]
B
No.
- [44:17]
A
What are you going to be? He called Gunther out. You can't then turn around and Gunther goes like. Will you put your career on your line?
- [44:22]
B
No.
- [44:22]
A
Nevermind, sir. You can't do that. You can't. Not if you're AJ Styles.
- [44:26]
B
I don't want AJ Styles career to end yet.
- [44:30]
A
You don't think he's going to beat Gunther?
- [44:32]
B
I don't think he's going to be Gunther.
- [44:34]
A
Whoa.
- [44:35]
B
And I don't think that's crazy to say. Have you seen Gunther lately?
- [44:39]
A
He wins matches. He wins matches. And it's because he's doing stuff like this. He didn't Want the match. The Irish fans were chanting very nasty things at him.
- [44:51]
B
They should.
- [44:51]
A
He was getting very frustrated by it. And then all of a sudden he realizes, look, I mean, AJ Styles did not get cheated, in my opinion. Last week on Raw, AJ Styles did not get cheated. He got outsmarted. That's it. And that is something that Gunther has done. You know, there have been a lot of people that go on with the Twitter fingers and they go, why would Gunther do this? Why would Gunther do that? Why would Gunther tap? This isn't who Gunther. This has always been who Gunther is. Gunther is the guy who is. He's going to take some offense in these matches, right? He's going to get, he always does. He's going to get a couple licks thrown his way and he's ready for it. But ultimately this is the guy who is going to figure out what's the one way he can win whatever scenario that he's in. And almost always he figures it out. And that's exactly what he did last week on Raw. And I think he also, you know, if he's backed into a corner, he wants to kind of spin you around so that you're the one who is now backed into the corner. And that's exactly what he did. AJ Styles put him in a position tonight when Gunther was, was going down the list of his accomplishments and talking about being the longest reigning Intercontinental champion of all time, talking about being a two time world Heavyweight champion, talking about retiring, Bill Goldberg talking about retiring and making John Cena give up. And then, just as he was going to get into the amount of time that he has spent in the ring in a Royal Rumble match, as he declared himself as, at the time, only the second entrant in this year's men's Royal Rumble match. Here comes AJ Styles demanding a rematch, wanting him to pull double duty at the Royal Rumble. Not only be in the Rumble match, but to face AJ Styles at the show.
- [46:48]
B
And Gunter says no.
- [46:49]
A
He says no. But then AJ says, I mean, it was like back to the Future. What are you, chicken? And Gunther goes full Marty McFly. Nobody calls me chicken. He doesn't know what to do. AJ Styles said if, unless you're scared, you don't want to be called scared if you're in Gunther's position, especially against a guy like A.J. styles. But he says, you don't have anything to offer me. You don't like, like what's, what's on the line here. I've already proven I can beat you. And then he realizes that career, you know, I think Gunther's in the position where he's like, okay, if I'm going to take this match after I've already beaten him once, if I'm going to take another match, what can you give me that? If I beat you and I get it, I can put it on that list that I just read. And if I can retire AJ Styles. AJ Styles said 2026 is going to be his last year wrestling.
- [47:39]
B
But I don't want it to end.
- [47:40]
A
In month number one. That's the difference here.
- [47:44]
B
I'm AJ Styles at WrestleMania. If you told me AJ Styles at SummerSlam.
- [47:48]
A
Of course you do. If you told me this match was happening at Survivor Series, I'd go like, yeah, yeah, that's the right way to go out. Yeah, at the Rumble. And I mean, I don't see Gunther losing me either.
- [47:59]
B
Which is why I don't think I don't want you to take the match.
- [48:03]
A
And guess what?
- [48:03]
B
He took the match.
- [48:04]
A
AJ not only he called his wife.
- [48:07]
B
Smart man.
- [48:08]
A
And his wife told him to kick his. You know what?
- [48:11]
B
I love her.
- [48:12]
A
She did the right thing. She stood by her man. I love that. But I mean, man, Gunther's gonna be licking his chops at this one. And by the way, Gunther declared for the Rumble.
- [48:22]
B
I know. Who's to say Gunter doesn't win the Royal Rumble and end AJ Styles career in the same night?
- [48:27]
A
I mean, but also, even if you were to lose to AJ Styles, he still got the Royal Rumble to look forward to. He could lose to AJ Styles but still win the Rumble, still have the night, whatever it is. AJ is not declared for the Royal Rumble. You know why?
- [48:40]
B
Because he has to focus.
- [48:42]
A
Because he might have his career be over by the time the match starts. Because if the AJ Gunther matches happens at that show, before the Royal Rumble.
- [48:51]
B
Match, you have to find another entrant.
- [48:53]
A
He's not in the Rumble, so he's not, you know, declared. So now I'm sitting there. Go as a fan. I'm sitting there going, well, you don't even have to. Like, if AJ declared for the Rumble, I'd be like, oh, well, then maybe AJ is going to win. But he didn't declare for the Rumble and he's fighting Gunther. So I'm sitting there going, like you got. There's no way. There's no way. He was just eyeing up the TNA champion. He's got all kinds of stuff on his plate and it could all go away. That has very quickly. I mean, the Rumble is a week from Saturday. Soon, that has very quickly become must watch. Because even though, you know we've got 10 days to build up to this, there's still, like you just said, a huge possibility, maybe a better chance than not. AJ Styles gets retired.
- [49:44]
B
That's a long. In 10 days, it's a long flight home from Riyadh.
- [49:50]
A
Last one.
- [49:52]
B
I don't like it. I don't think he should have taken the match.
- [49:55]
A
You don't?
- [49:55]
B
No.
- [49:56]
A
I mean, but what's he going to do? Not take the match? What are you going to not. What are you going to say? Like, oh, no, no, no. You, you, you. You raised the stakes too high.
- [50:04]
B
I want to give these people the last year. I want them to see me at WrestleMania.
- [50:09]
A
Oh.
- [50:09]
B
So, you know, throughout the year. So I'm not going to take the match.
- [50:11]
A
So, you know, you lose to me again. You can't. You have to take the match.
- [50:16]
B
I know. Everything you're saying is right. I just. I don't like it. Because it's Gunter, right?
- [50:21]
A
No, I get it. I get it. But how does AJ Styles. Even if he doesn't take the man, he's damned if he doesn't. But he put himself in this position. He started it.
- [50:30]
B
He stepped up to Guenther because Guenther was being disrespectful. And Gujr said, oh, you don't like that? Great.
- [50:37]
A
How about this? He stopped me, but if you can't stop me, I'd like to have your career, please. It really does change things. I want to talk about all the people who declared for the Rumble. But first, there's big news. Have you heard about the big news? The big news is for WWE fans. The big news is for sports fans. The world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Festival is making its big return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the league's team superstars and athletes that you love across four action packed days in July. Wait till you hear this. Okay? You can meet your favorite WWE Superstars at Fanatics Fest. Fanatics just announced. You ready? Cody Rhodes, Rhea, Ripley Eosky Live, Morgan Jay, uso, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Randy Orton, Stephanie Vicaire, Tiffany Stratton and Bianca Belair will all be in attendance as well as big names across sports like WWE Superfan, Cam Scatterbo. You'll also be able to get your hands on exclusive merch and catch live podcasts. I got the exclusive John Cena Fanatics Fest shirt from last year. You know, I mean, it's. It's always so fun Tickets are on sale now. And Raw Recap fans, you guys can get a 10% discount by using code RAWRAP10 at checkout. That's RAW RECAP10 to get those tickets to Fanatics Fest this year. And hopefully we'll see you there.
- [52:04]
B
By the way, we were at a Fanatics event last week.
- [52:06]
A
Yeah.
- [52:07]
B
Shooting some hoops at the Intuit Dome. A lot of people were like, you know, Megan didn't make a shot, but a much better shooting stroke than Sam.
- [52:16]
A
You can have as many strokes as you want.
- [52:18]
B
You also were the one. You were the one who was filming. And I made plenty of shots.
- [52:22]
A
I didn't see it.
- [52:22]
B
You conveniently didn't send me any videos where I made a shot.
- [52:25]
A
And I'm so glad you brought this up. This is so insane. And I've been telling people, like, like. And I bet the control will 100% agree with me. Okay? People say that Meghan is a better basketball player than me, a better athlete, based on the video evidence that was presented. Okay. My form was a little less than conventional. I will say little. Okay? But big deal.
- [52:46]
B
A little.
- [52:47]
A
A lot of people thought Mugsy Bogues was not conventional either. But the fact is that if you look at the two videos, regardless of I get my form right, I put two up. You put zero up.
- [52:59]
B
I was also wearing a dress and tights.
- [53:01]
A
You didn't.
- [53:02]
B
Wearing street clothes.
- [53:02]
A
You don't know what I had on under it.
- [53:04]
B
I don't want to know what you had on under.
- [53:06]
A
It's none of your business.
- [53:07]
B
Don't know.
- [53:08]
A
But I got two up. You got none.
- [53:10]
B
I made plenty of shots. You sent me one video, and the video that you sent me happened to have zero shots that I made.
- [53:17]
A
That sounds.
- [53:18]
B
I think that was on purpose.
- [53:18]
A
That sounds like some Becky Lynch.
- [53:20]
B
That was on purpose. Didn't even matter. Everybody saw right away. They said, oh, Megan is a much better player.
- [53:24]
A
Right, right, right. I love her on my team. So she could score exact points.
- [53:29]
B
I mean, if anyone was defending you. Nothing. No points.
- [53:32]
A
I would get two, just like in the video. And two is a lot more than zero.
- [53:37]
B
If you haven't seen the video. Sam's basketball skills little. Little shaky. I think. I think we're gonna have to set up a contest. Maybe a Fanatics fest.
- [53:45]
A
A little shaky. Better than Megan's. But a little shaky.
- [53:47]
B
Not better than Megan's.
- [53:48]
A
Well, you got zero that we saw on video. Video's the video. Okay.
- [53:54]
B
You also got me concussed.
- [53:56]
A
I did not. I did not.
- [53:58]
B
We're hit.
- [53:59]
A
With a basketball. It's not that big of a deal.
- [54:02]
B
Drilled.
- [54:02]
A
Listen, we have two big shows coming up, okay? We have Saturday night's main event this Saturday and then the Royal Rumble the Saturday after. It is a humongous time. Four massive matches have been announced for Saturday night's main event, I believe. Is it four or is it three? Three. That's right. Because the four way we had the. The matches that made the participants in that four way on smackdown.
- [54:32]
B
That's right.
- [54:33]
A
And it gave us Randy Orton. It gave us Trick Willie. It gave us. Who else is in the match? Do we have a graphic?
- [54:44]
B
Sami Zayn.
- [54:44]
A
There it is. Sami Zayn and Damian Priest. And I mean, by the way, the Sami Zayn Ilia Dragunov match from smackdown was absolutely unbelievable.
- [54:55]
B
I mean, look at these guys. I already can't wait for the entrance of Randy Orton.
- [54:59]
A
Off the charts, off the charts.
- [55:01]
B
Trick Williams, the entire crowd in Montreal.
- [55:04]
A
Trick Williams has been on smackdown for all of like two minutes, two weeks, three weeks maybe. And if he wins this, he's in the WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble. The winner of this gets Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble.
- [55:19]
B
And then think about Montreal with Sami Zayn coming home.
- [55:22]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [55:23]
B
And Damian Priest coming off the ambulance match.
- [55:25]
A
Damian Priest coming off that whole rivalry with Aleister Black where a lot of fans were asking, okay, now what's next? What's next? What's next? Maybe the WWE Championship and the fact that, like, Drew McIntyre wins this title out of nowhere and he's the one defending. So now, I mean, the world, the WWE Championship picture is so incredibly different than it was. We find out on Saturday who goes to the Royal Rumble to face Drew McIntyre. We've also got the Women's Tag Team Championship on the line. Rhea Ripley and EO sky, who we saw tonight on Monday Night Raw, also declared for the Royal Rumble match. Defend against Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez, who along with Raquel Rodriguez are all three of them in the Royal Rumble match. We're just going to find out on Saturday which two are bringing the Tag Team Championship to the Royal Rumble match. But what I loved about the. The interaction that these two teams had on Monday Night Raw tonight was when Liv Morgan pointed out to EO sky that you need to watch out for this one because Rhea Ripley turns on her partners and you go, ooh, she remembers everything.
- [56:36]
B
That's right. Because Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan were once upon a time tag team partners.
- [56:41]
A
Yes.
- [56:41]
B
And they looked. Appeared to be best friends.
- [56:44]
A
Yes.
- [56:44]
B
Just like you and all your friends.
- [56:46]
A
And you and all your friends.
- [56:47]
B
And then they had a friend breakup. That's right, a friend breakup. See, I'm not the only one who has friend breakups. Rhea Ripley, who might be the coolest person on the planet, she has friend breakups.
- [56:55]
A
I just said I couldn't relate. And then, of course, massive, Massive Mount match announced on Friday, coming off of that Three Stages of Hell match that Jacob Fatu interfered in causing Cody Rhodes to lose the WWE Championship. Cody Rhodes called out Jacob Fatu. Jacob Fatu called out Cody Rhodes. The match itself happens at Saturday night's main event. Cody Rhodes one on one with Jacob Fatu. And you know, I was talking about this today on, on the Not Sam podcast, but this version of Jacob Fetu, it's like he went away after he got his teeth knocked out of his mouth. And I mean, Jacob Fatu is just not the guy that you want to knock his teeth out of his mouth because he went, he went away and all of a sudden he's come back and we haven't seen Jacob on this level since he first showed up to smackdown. Remember when he first showed up and Paul Heyman is going like we knew about him, we knew what an asset he could be, but we also knew he was uncontrollable. We also knew that he wasn't fit for polite society.
- [58:00]
B
This is too dangerous for wwe.
- [58:03]
A
Too dangerous. And I feel like Jacob is back in that mind frame.
- [58:09]
B
I mean, getting your teeth knocked out will definitely do something to a person.
- [58:12]
A
I mean, think about just smackdown alone. He went after Drew McIntyre. He went after Kit Wilson, which Kit.
- [58:22]
B
Will, son, that's great.
- [58:23]
A
That's so not toxic of you. And then he also went after Cody Rhodes. He's going after everybody and does not care. I love this version of Jacob Fatu. Cody.
- [58:33]
B
This is his return to in ring action.
- [58:34]
A
It's his return, yes, to, to having a sanctioned match. I mean, he's had plenty of activity in the ring that has been completely unsanctioned. But yes, having an actual sanctioned match, this is not a no disqualification match. This is a standard rules match. So hopefully it stays within the confines. But we also know, I mean, Cody's in a really unique position and I think one that most of us didn't see him in.
- [58:59]
B
No, I thought that he would have the title on the road to WrestleMania.
- [59:02]
A
But now he's in this match with Jacob, which I don't know if he's going to be able to win. And then for the third time in this, as the American Nightmare. He's in the Royal Rumble. He's in the Royal Rumble match itself. So we got those three matches so far announced for Saturday night's main event. And then on smackdown, Cody Rhodes announced that he was going to be in the Royal Rumble. And I'm sure we're going to find out a lot more about the Royal Rumble next week on Raw. But tonight, a ton of people declaring for the Rumble. It was Cody Rhodes on smackdown. Then tonight it was Gunther declaring, which is a difference maker. Jay USO came out and declared for the Royal Rumble.
- [59:45]
B
And the whole crowd to yeet to declare for the Rumble.
- [59:48]
A
That's right. And I didn't know that they yeeted in Ireland, but they do.
- [59:51]
B
Yeah, yeah. Yeeting is worldwide.
- [59:54]
A
It's a global phenomenon. There's no doubt about that. And everybody can sit there and tell you right now, well, Jay's not going to win the Royal Rumble. You know when the last time everybody said, Jay's not going to win the Royal Rumble? Yeah, that's right. And what had happened?
- [60:04]
B
Jay won the Royal Rumble.
- [60:06]
A
He wants to go back to back, much like Cody Rhodes did. Then you had Penta Rey, Mysterio and Dragon Lee, which I think they put out on Social, but during one of the Netflix breaks, they announced that they're going to be in the men's Royal Rumble match as well. Over on the women's side, you have Bailey and Lyra announced they were going to be in the Rumble. You have Asuka and Kyrie that announced that they were going to be in the Royal Rumble. Rhea Ripley and EO sky announced they were going to be in the Royal Rumble. Raquel and Live and Roxanne all announced that they were going to be in the women's Royal Rumble match. So that's, I think, unless I'm forgetting anybody on the women's side, that's nine women. And then Cody, Gunther, Jacob, Penta Ray, Dragon Lee. Is that six that we've got so far in the men's Royal Rumble?
- [60:58]
B
I believe so.
- [61:01]
A
And I would imagine Friday on smackdown, it's going to start filling up. And then next Monday between Bron breakers, interaction, whatever it may be, his return with, with, with Adam Pierce and the fact that it's the last Monday night Raw before everybody moves on to Riyadh and the Royal Rumble, I think is going to be intense. And I think this ring is going to start filling up and, and what the Rumble really looks like.
- [61:31]
B
It's really here.
- [61:32]
A
It's really here.
- [61:33]
B
I'm pumped.
- [61:34]
A
It's Going to be amazing when we go to Monday Night Raw, when we sit here a week from today. To recap whatever happens on Raw, who are the tag team champions on the women's side?
- [61:44]
B
Ooh.
- [61:45]
A
Because we also, next week on Raw, have the fatal four way men's tag team match to declare the number one contenders for the men's tag team championship against the Usos. But on the women's side, Saturday night's main event will have come and gone by the time we get to next Monday Night raw. You pointed out who are the tag team champions.
- [62:05]
B
You pointed out that Liv Morgan, when she gets injured and she returns, something crazy happens. Liv Morgan, when she has to sit at home. We saw her hit the oblivion tonight.
- [62:15]
A
Yeah.
- [62:15]
B
And Michael Cole pointed out on commentary that if she hits that this weekend, it's game over for the champions. Liv Morgan is operating on a different level than anybody in wwe. The fact that she's working with Roxanne to bring this goal to the Judgment Day was surprising to me at first, but I see it play out every single week. She is locked in and focused on getting back the title she never lost. Her and Roxanne are going to be your new tag team. Whoa.
- [62:42]
A
That's massive. That is massive. And it would be huge. I also wonder how the Judgment Day is going to feel. We'll find out next week, I hope, about Finn Balor losing. I don't. I can't see anybody being upset with Finn Balor for losing that match because.
- [62:59]
B
He'S not like he took his eye off the ball or anything like that.
- [63:01]
A
No. But he did embrace punk after the match.
- [63:03]
B
Yeah.
- [63:03]
A
I'm very curious to find out what Liv Morgan thinks about that. If she thought it was great, good show sportsmanship or what are you celebrating you didn't win the gold? Because she's been very obsessed with everybody in the Judgment Day having world championships, whether it's World Heavyweight, whether it's Women's World, whether it's World Tag Team.
- [63:21]
B
Well, she's got to have gold herself in order to say anything to Finn.
- [63:24]
A
We'll find out on Saturday and we'll be back here with you on Monday. Make sure you subscribe across all audio platforms. Make sure you're hitting like and leaving comments on the WWE's YouTube channel, and we will see you back here next week for more RAW recap.
- [63:41]
B
Sam.