Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton is set, Who will wear the crown?: Raw Recap

Summary

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Raw Recap with Sam Roberts & Megan Morant

Episode: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton is set, Who will wear the crown?

Date: June 24, 2025

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Overview

This episode of Raw Recap delivers an energetic breakdown of the latest WWE Monday Night Raw as Sam Roberts and Megan Morant hype up the much-anticipated upcoming Night of Champions. Major storylines include the historic King and Queen of the Ring tournament finals (Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton; Jade Cargill vs. Asuka), high-stakes championship discussions, the looming presence of Goldberg, and candid backstage insight from Jade Cargill herself. There’s reflection on iconic moments, fan experiences at Fanatics Fest, and playful, opinionated banter throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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King of the Ring: Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso, and Setting Up Cody vs. Randy Orton

Timestamps: 00:02 – 14:00

• Classic Tournament Vibes:

  • Sam opens reminiscing about classic King of the Ring matches, noting how matchups like Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso “wouldn’t happen any other way.”

    “Growing up, for me, the King of the Ring was the best because it was just a bunch of great matches... and you end up with these classics that you otherwise wouldn't get.” (Sam Roberts, 01:22)

• Cody & Jey’s Journey:

  • Praise for how Cody and Jey’s relationship evolved from mutual support to partners, to competitors.
  • The match showcased both as beloved “good guys” in modern wrestling—a “storytelling method that felt gone” but now revived by Cody and Jey.
  • “Grown men wearing Yeet T-shirts in every color.” (Megan Morant, 04:34)

• Match Highlights:

  • Dramatic near-falls—e.g., Jey kicking out of a super Cody Cutter, Cody kicking out of Crossroads.
  • Sam admires that it didn’t resort to heel-turn tropes, but stayed competitive and respectful.

• Aftermath & Full-Circle Storytelling:

  • Cody wins clean, advances to face Randy Orton at Night of Champions—a showdown rooted in their Legacy history.
  • “This is a hugely full circle moment.” (Sam Roberts, 10:41)
  • Megan notes the long build: “When are we going to get that match?...It’s so much deeper than just two of the best ever.” (Megan Morant, 10:50-11:12)
  • Sam highlights the anticipation of Randy's “Viper” turn—which never came, adding even more intrigue.

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Goldberg vs. Gunther: Championship, Legacy, and Final Matches

Timestamps: 18:15 – 27:03

• Goldberg’s Last Match?

  • Sam references Michael Cole’s interview with Goldberg clarifying the upcoming match is for the title and is Goldberg’s last.
  • Skepticism about Goldberg's “spoiler” wins in the past—could he actually leave as champion?
  • "You go, this is a novelty...Then guess what? Goldberg would win. Goldberg wins the title. That happened multiple times.” (Sam Roberts, 19:19)

• Gunther Responds:

  • Gunther’s promo labels Goldberg as a “one trick pony,” and coldly dismisses his late-career run.
  • "He would tell you this is a foolish conversation even to have." (Sam Roberts, 21:27)
  • Gunther aims to “kill Goldberg’s legacy.”
  • Megan: "If you still have a trick at 58, you’re doing pretty good, right?" (Megan Morant, 23:53)

• Legacy at Stake:

  • Sam notes Goldberg’s entire aura risks being tarnished if Gunther embarrasses him: “Losing doesn’t destroy legacy, but, like, Gunther embarrassing him, that would be tough to get past.” (Sam Roberts, 27:03)

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Queen of the Ring Finals: Jade Cargill vs. Asuka + Jade Interview

Timestamps: 27:03 – 47:11

Jade Cargill Joins Live (29:44 – 47:11)

• Pressure and Process:

  • Jade reflects on heavy expectations since signing with WWE and finally reaching the finals.
  • “Pressure makes diamonds. I welcome it. I love it. I’ve dealt with pressure my entire life playing sports… it’s all about how you deliver.” (Jade Cargill, 32:36)
  • Insists on “trusting the process,” but asserts the need to actively “bring that process into rotation.” (31:25)

• Focus and Confidence:

  • When Sam poses the “what if you lose to Asuka” scenario, Jade firmly redirects:

    "We need to reword that. It’s when [I win]. It’s black or white." (Jade Cargill, 33:43-33:55)

• Past Tag Team Experience:

  • Grateful for partnership with Bianca Belair—helped elevate both the titles and the women’s division.

• Backstage Reality:

  • Admits nerves at main roster debut but credits a supportive locker room: “They just want to make sure I was hungry…willing to go out there and do what it takes to become a champion.” (Jade Cargill, 37:52)

• Performance Center Mentors:

  • Shouts out Terry Taylor and William Regal as honest, transformative coaches.
    “If they see something...they’re cutting it right then and there. And I appreciate them for that.” (Jade Cargill, 39:47)

• Mentality:

  • Exudes confidence but credits upbringing: “No one can tell you who you are... I am control of my destiny in regards to anyone else. So doubt is just a word. It’s a word I don’t believe in.” (Jade Cargill, 44:09-44:43)
  • Moved by the conversation, she realizes the magnitude:

    “Wow. It’s the summer of Jade. That fires me up.” (Jade Cargill, 45:42)

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Other Major Segments & Storylines

Timestamps: 48:02 – 67:18

Fanatics Fest and Superstar Entrances (53:00 – 57:42)

• Fan Engagement:

  • Sam and Megan share highlights from Fanatics Fest—celebrity and fan WWE entrances, humorous moments, including Tom Brady and James Harden imitating superstars.
  • Sam receives an epic John Cena hug:

    “It’s literally the greatest hug I’ve ever felt.” (Sam Roberts, 56:51)

• Judging Entrances:

  • Playful debate over Sam (and Kathy Kelly) scoring Becky Lynch’s entrance a 9/10, drawing Megan’s ire.

Women's Intercontinental Title Drama

• Match Review:

  • Becky Lynch retains against Bayley via DQ due to Lyra interference.
  • Megan: “Lyra is obsessed with making this about her. Becky’s been done with Lyra long ago.” (Megan Morant, 62:16)

• Becky vs. Lyra Dynamic:

  • Discussion of the ongoing rivalry and unresolved tensions, comparing how Becky and Bayley approach helping the NXT women’s division.

Judgment Day & Roxanne Perez

• Roxanne Perez’s Role:

  • Lost to Jade Cargill in the Queen tourney, failed to get attention from Dominik Mysterio, but redeems herself by helping Raquel against Rhea Ripley.
  • “If you're good, you'll find a dub somewhere.” (Sam Roberts, 49:00)

• Judgment Day Family Ties:

  • Finn Balor morphs into a mentor role, Megan suspicious of his intentions.

Upcoming Matches for Night of Champions (64:48 – 67:15)

• Stellar Card Hype:

  • “Listen to these four matches. This card is nuts. CM Punk vs. John Cena. Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. Asuka vs. Jade Cargill. Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa…” (Sam Roberts, 65:28)

• Jacob Fatu vs. Solo Sikoa:

  • Speculation on which version of Solo will show up; both hosts agree: to stand a chance, it must be “Enforcer” Solo, not “Swaggy Solo.”
  • “Solo needs to remind people that before there was Jacob Fatu, Solo was that force.” (Sam Roberts, 67:08)

• CM Punk vs. John Cena:

  • Megan credits Cena’s “pipe bomb” promo for giving the feud real stakes:

    “Until Friday night on Smackdown… I said, 'It’s going to be a great match, but I need a little bit, like, what is it?' And that made it better than I could have ever imagined.” (Megan Morant, 69:45)

  • Sam jokes about his “fanboy” moment with Cena supplanting any previous skepticism.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I believe that in the current era…Cody Rhodes and…Jey Uso have kind of recaptured the imagination of WWE fans.” (Sam Roberts, 03:23)
• “Pressure makes diamonds. I welcome it. I love it.” (Jade Cargill, 32:36)
• “If you're good, you'll find a dub somewhere.” (Sam Roberts, 49:00)
• “No one can tell you who you are...I am control of my destiny in regards to anyone else. So doubt is just a word. It’s a word I don’t believe in.” (Jade Cargill, 44:09-44:43)
• “It's hard not to root for Jade Cargill listening to that conversation... But... nobody's ready for Asuka.” (Sam Roberts, 48:02)
• “It’s literally the greatest hug I’ve ever felt.” (Sam Roberts, 56:51; on his John Cena moment)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Cody Rhodes vs. Jey Uso Main Event Recap: 00:02 – 14:00
• Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton Setup: 08:11 – 14:00
• Goldberg’s Last Match & Gunther Promo: 18:15 – 27:03
• Jade Cargill Interview: 29:44 – 47:11
• Roxanne Perez & Judgment Day: 48:02 – 52:21
• Fanatics Fest (Celebrity & Superstar Entrances): 53:00 – 57:42
• Women's Intercontinental Title, Becky/Bayley/Lyra: 60:00 – 64:16
• Upcoming Matches Preview (Night of Champions): 64:48 – 67:18
• CM Punk vs. John Cena/ Cena promo on SmackDown: 68:10 – 70:33

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Tone & Style

The episode blends fan-fueled excitement with insider perspective, leaning on nostalgia, storytelling, and playful ribbing. Sam and Megan maintain upbeat energy with candid, witty exchanges and occasional meta-commentary on wrestling tropes and fandom.

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Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Episode

• Recap and context for all major stories and upcoming matches.
• Direct insight from Jade Cargill on her WWE journey and mindset ahead of the Queen of the Ring finals.
• Anecdotes from Fanatics Fest showing WWE’s broad, immersive entertainment culture.
• Strong preview of Night of Champions, including narrative stakes for every headlining match.

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Transcript

[Sam Roberts]

David? Yes. Have you ever noticed that the way we use our phones is ironic? Phones are for connection, but we look at them more than we look at each other. That's ironic. Griffin, it's like rain on your wedding day. Listen. That's ironic. So U.S. cellular created U.S. mode to help us reconnect, you and I. That's right. A phone company wanting people to use their phones, less ironic. A phone company wanting people to use their phones, less ironic. But let's find US again with US mode from US Cellular. Visit uscellular.com built for us to get started. What are the other things that are ironic? The finals for the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments are set. And by no coincidence, Jade Cargill is on the show. Choice words from Gunther and from Goldberg. A women's intercontinental title match that maybe didn't end as clean as we all wanted. And so much more. Welcome to Raw recap of WWE and fanatics original production. Megan, I could already feel the energy after the cold open. I promise we will talk about it. You can get it off your chest. Don't go. It's not yet. I can feel it. You took objection with something that I said. We'll get there. I promise you, we'll get there. I mean, because I. I first have got to talk about the way Raw went off the air. I mean, listen, growing up, for me, the King of the Ring was the best because it was just a bunch of great matches. I mean, going back to like 1993 and the king of the Ring tournament and all the qualifiers, and it was like Bret Hart versus Razor and Bam Bam and Mr. Perfect and Mr. Perfect qualifying in this series of three matches against Doink the Clown, who people thought was like, just kind of a gimmicky guy, but they were like amazing matches. And you end up with these classics that you otherwise wouldn't get. Had the brackets not worked out the way the brackets worked out. And that's what we got to main event, Monday Night Raw. I don't see any other planet where Cody Rhodes vs. Jey USO would make sense as a match.

[Megan Morant]

Not right now.

[Sam Roberts]

Not right now. And we got it. I love the way we got it. I love the version that we got it in that. It wasn't like one of these guys had to turn on the other one of these guys, and now this one's bad and this one's good and we have to settle the score. And it was just like the journey that these two have been on together as brothers. The fact that, that when Jay needed To figure out who he was without the bloodline. Cody was there to bring him over to Monday night, to Monday Night Raw. When Cody needed to figure out who he was without the WWE Championship, without finishing his story, they were able to win the Tag Team Championship together. Together, they, they, they brought Yeet to the world, at least to the WWE world anyway.

[Megan Morant]

And gave us one of the best press conference moments ever.

[Jade Cargill]

Remember?

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah.

[Megan Morant]

WWE history.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. And we're by each other's sides as this whole journey progresses. And it brings us to this king of the ring. Right? And you get this to, to me, wonderful scenario where you've got two of the most beloved good guys in the wwe. And I have said before, I believe that in the current era of professional wrestling being a classic good guy, which is somebody who is plays the good guy character, but is also cheered by not only children, but men, women and children, that gets people to buy tickets to want to see you beat the bad guy. That felt like it was something like a method of storytelling that was gone in professional wrestling. We were all too cool for it. And then comes Cody Rhodes and quite frankly, Jey USO as well, who have kind of recaptured the imagination of WWE fans. The way WWE fans imagination was captured, you know, when we were all sitting there waiting for WWE Superstars to come on at noon after Saturday morning cartoons and we would root for the good guys.

[Megan Morant]

You have grown men wearing Yeet T shirts in every color.

[Sam Roberts]

And Cody Coates.

[Megan Morant]

Exactly.

[Sam Roberts]

And Cody full on red, white and blue cody jackets. You're 100% right. And they come and they, they just want to see these guys succeed. And I felt like you got to see this where you wanted Jay USO to succeed because you wanted to know that the journey's not over for him. That this, this, you didn't want to believe that we, we are being awakened from this dream. And in the dream world, Jey USO is the World Heavyweight Champion. We wanted to stay in that reality, but at the same time, Cody is just on this road back after losing to evil John Cena at WrestleMania. And so, and that's what you've got. You, you, you want to see Cody back in that spot. There's just something not right now, which is ironic to say there's something not right about Cody not being WWE Champion to me, which is crazy because Roman Reigns is the person that defined that title. And all of a sudden you say, I want Cody to get his belt back. You don't say, I want Cody to get Roman's belt back. I want Cody to get his belt back and to define that title after Roman's run as champion is like, next to impossible. So the fact that we got it, the fact that we got this match where both proved why they're in the positions that they're in, I mean, there were so many moments in that thing where, like, there's the moment when it went when Jay kicks out of the super Cody cutter off the top rope, and then, and then Cody kicking out of the crossroads, Jay putting on that crossroads. And I feel like the best thing that ever happened was Jay winning the World Heavyweight Championship with Gunther's finish. Because now when Jay puts on his.

[Megan Morant]

Opponent'S finish, I go, is that it?

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

Exactly when I saw him do the cross crossroads. Is Jay gonna win? Jay advancing?

[Sam Roberts]

Because you watch it happen and there is this second, like, no way. But you go, if it makes sense that anybody would do this, it's J.

[Megan Morant]

Uso and similarly, in the Gunter match, when Gunter won back the World Heavyweight Championship and Gunter hit this beer, right.

[Sam Roberts]

You were like Gunther using Jay's tricks. Is this where. And that's where we thought Gunther was going to win it first before we, before he put Jada to nighty night land. But, but Cody, of course, winning after the crossroads, friends again. Friends still. But I, I, I love that it wasn't like a let's shake hands between every move. Let's. It was once the bell rang, we're both fighting for this. That was the journey that you went on.

[Megan Morant]

And I mean, it really was one hell of a match.

[Sam Roberts]

Great match.

[Megan Morant]

And there was respect after the bell rang, after Cody advanced and it was a clean match.

[Sam Roberts]

It was like, it was, it was a match where you thought, yeah, the guy that should have won won the match based on what had the match. It's just classic wrestling. It was great. And I'm watching all this, right? And I'm seeing, you know, we're seeing Cody and Jay. This is so fun. We're thinking about Cody and it's like, well, he is on this journey to get back to the WWE Championship if he can get there. But. And what I feel like almost gets lost because of everything that's going on around the King of the ring tournament is that for what, three years now, starting WrestleMania 38, 39, almost four, three and a half years. There's one match that's eluded us. There's one match that people have talked about, we're going to get there. We're going to get there. And that conversation heated up when Cody was the Champion. We still didn't quite get there. We're getting it.

[Megan Morant]

Cody against Randy orton.

[Sam Roberts]

Cody Rhods vs. Randy Orton is going to Night of Champions. This, I mean, you talk about when Cody first came back to wwe. Oh, what kind of matches can we concoct when he was having that trifecta of Incredible Classics with Seth Rollins and we were just coming back down to earth with the idea that Cody was back in wwe. What do we want this version of Cody? Who do we want him to wrestle? What are those, like dream matches? What would it be like if this version of Cody wrestled Randy Orton? And we were waiting and waiting and waiting and then all of a sudden, not through some like, elaborate story, not through some like, well, this person, through this tournament, we end with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. Not only two guys that are driven by that WWE Championship, not only two guys that you could absolutely see headline SummerSlam. Not only two guys who both want rematches with John Cena because of the way John Cena beat them, but it's Cody and Randy. You're going back to the days of Legacy. You have to understand when Cody was first in wwe, this is before Stardust, this is before all of it, when he was first getting his feet wet. One of the very early things that he did was he was in a group with Randy Orton called Legacy, where Randy Orton would take some of the generational Superstars, meaning the second generation, third generation Superstars, and bring them under his wing as a third generation Superstar himself. And we watched Randy, who was already established, bring in this young Cody Rhodes. And Cody grow as a performer under Randy in a very clearly defined, very mentor mentee situation. Randy is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. And after leaving the WWE and coming back to the wwe, Cody Rhodes changed the entire business forever. And now those two paths that started as a mentor mentee situation meet under the guise of like the immediacy is one gets the title shot. But the reality is this is a hugely full circle moment.

[Megan Morant]

And it's wild because throughout Cody's title reign, we saw for probably six months, Randy Orton gazing at Cody Rhodes Championship.

[Sam Roberts]

That's exactly right.

[Megan Morant]

And we're all thinking, when are we going to get that match? When are we going to get that match? But it's so much deeper than just two of the best ever. Right to your point, mentor mentee. And Randy Orton saw something in Cody before we all saw this version of Cody Rhodes, before we all saw the Cody Rhodes that finished his story.

[Sam Roberts]

But I'm so glad you brought up what you just brought up because depending on how long you. You've even been watching wwe, there are chapters in this story that give this match that foundation. The idea that, yeah, when Cody was champion, we were all. Let's not kid ourselves. I mean, I'm a fan. I, I was waiting, just as we all were waiting for that other shoe to drop. We were all waiting before Kevin turned on Cody, before Kevin turned on Randy, we were all waiting for Randy Orton to turn on Cody Rhodes to try to get that title that he kept looking at every segment, every. He was glancing at the title. His eyes weren't locked on Cody, they were looking at the title. We were just waiting for the Viper to strike and he never did.

[Megan Morant]

And you know what's so, I mean, you say the Viper, right? And Randy Orton, I think we're all just so lucky that he's performing at the level he's performing at right now at this moment in his career, after almost losing his career at multiple points that I think sometimes we're just so happy he's there, we forget that he is the Viper.

[Sam Roberts]

And Randy said, he said in interviews, like, he's not winding down. No, he said in interviews he's got it. Like, stop talking about me. Like, you know, like, this is the last chapter. He wants to go for another, like five years or something like that. He says. And guess what? Randy Orton is not sticking around the WWWE for another five years to not be a world champion. And it's just so. There's just, there's just so much in that Randy Cody match, especially around the context of the King of the Ring final, that is intriguing. And this idea that look, I mean, between Randy Orton and Cody Rhods, that really does feel like it, it fits the title of King of the Ring of wwe, you know what I mean? In the, in the truest, most dictionary definition of the term, saying either Randy Orton or Cody Rhodes is the king of this promotion.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, it sounds about right.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Something strikes true to that.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

You know, and I mean, and then, and then you start looking towards SummerSlam and who. And I don't know if, if, if they get. We'll get to pick the champion that they face or if they, I mean.

[Megan Morant]

Who knows if they have to stick with whatever brand.

[Sam Roberts]

Brand they're on. Don't know. I don't know. I'm sure somebody knows, but I don't know. I don't make these decisions, but I'm very, very excited. There's just so much. But it's so interesting with these championships right now. Because on one show you've got John Cena who's got this expressed goal of saying, I am here until December and then I leave with the WWE Championship.

[Megan Morant]

And he's Counting the days.

[Sam Roberts]

100%. Appearances. Yes, the appearances.

[Megan Morant]

Not matches, appearances.

[Sam Roberts]

And I still want to know a couple weeks ago on smackdown when he showed up twice, remember, he did like the two. Does that count as two or one?

[Megan Morant]

We're going to have to get clarification on that.

[Sam Roberts]

I got to get Cena's lawyer on the phone, but he's going to be our next guest on Raw. Recap. But Cena's lawyer. But guys, we're going to get back to it. You know, this isn't the most pleasant topic to talk about, but we've got to Aging. You know, part of the reason we watch wrestling is because we're, we're holding on to our childhood. But childhood doesn't last forever. You start to realize that you're, you're not sleeping as well anymore. You start to realize that your, your, your joints are aching. You know what I mean? You get that weird blood work back from the doctor. All those signs of the unavoidable. You're getting older. But I'm very, very excited to talk to you guys about this. C15 from fatty 15. Yes, C15 is the first emerging essential fatty acid to be discovered in more than 90 years. It's an incredible scientific breakthrough to support our long term health and wellness. And you guessed it, healthy aging, I think goes along with all of that. Based on over 100 studies, we now know that C15 strengthens our cells and is a key healthy aging nutrient which helps to slow biological aging at the cellular level. Fatty 15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help support your long term health and wellness, especially as you age. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com rawrecap and using code RAW recap at checkout. You gotta check it out. That's fatty15.com rawrecap and use code RAW recap at checkout. Guys. Still a lot to talk about, but one of the things that I have to talk to you about is getting money to friends using this. Making it easy, making it simple. You know, you try to send or receive money through an app and yeah, yeah, the thing that I hate the most is having to wait days for the money to get through. It's my money, you know what I mean? Why do I have to wait Days. Why, if I don't wanna wait days, do I need these massive fees just to get the money that my buddy has already sent me? Wow. Cash App. Cash App is an official partner of the wwe. As a matter of fact, Cash App sponsored Money in the Bank. You probably saw it on the Briefcase in June and has some hilarious custom ads airing during WWE broadcasts this year. Cash App. It's a safe, easy and fast way to receive and transfer money to family and friends. It sets up instantly. So easy to get started. You put it on your phone. You put your phone number in. Bada bing, bada boom. No bank account needed. Just simple, simple, brainless. No waiting. You, you, you get your money from your friend. It goes right in. You have immediate access to it. You're not waiting for days. And for a limited time only, new Cash App users can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash. Yes, that's for real. There's no catch. Just download Cash App and sign up. Use our exclusive referral code, Raw recap in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and. And you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App. I say all this to say that Michael Cole had a. Had an interview with Bill Goldberg on Raw tonight. And Bill said, and this was something that I had wildly speculated about on my Not Sam podcast, that if we were still looking for clarification on what this match was. Right. That there was an assumption that this was a world title match and this was Goldberg's last match. And I said, I think it's definitely a world title match, but I don't know if you've gotten clarification.

[Megan Morant]

The Internet said it was his last match. And the Internet's always right.

[Sam Roberts]

In this case, they were right.

[Megan Morant]

This time.

[Sam Roberts]

They were.

[Megan Morant]

The Internet is. I give him, like, a.300 batting average, which is pretty good. It's not hall of Fame number.

[Sam Roberts]

It's a bad. No, it's not bad. But the part that I found intriguing was because the thing about Goldberg is that, yes, we can talk about his legacy in, like, the late 90s, going into 2000, where he was. He did have this winning streak that has been completely unmatched, just plowing through everybody in wcw and quite frankly, I would argue keeping that company alive. As the NWO story started to kind of cool down. Goldberg was the thing that got hot right then. But there's this other side of Goldberg, which is the later side of Goldberg, which is, spoiler Goldberg, where he comes in. And you go, this is a novelty. You go, this is for fun. Like, this is. Imagine if. Imagine if Goldberg fought the champion. What would that be like? And what a victory it'll be for the champion, right?

[Megan Morant]

But then, guess what? Goldberg would win.

[Sam Roberts]

Goldberg wins the title. Yeah, that's. That's. That's the other. That's later. Goldberg is. You think it's a novelty, and then Goldberg's the champion. And that happened multiple times. So the idea that it's impossible for Goldberg to show up to Atlanta and beat Gunther is naive. It's possible. There's precedent for it. But he said it's his last match. So I go, okay, well, then, why. But then Michael Cole said that.

[Megan Morant]

It's a good journalist here, following up, right?

[Sam Roberts]

Like, but what happened? You said it's your last match. You said it's a world title match. So if you win your last match and you're the world champion, and then, I don't know, Goldberg said something like, you know, that's. That's a. Interesting scenario. Or that's quite the. I don't think he said conundrum, but the thing that he said equated to conundrum for me, which is just a little way of saying, huh? Can you imagine? And I'm sitting there going, like, are we gonna have any world champions by the end of the year?

[Megan Morant]

Everybody leaving with the title.

[Sam Roberts]

Like, that's not how wrestling is supposed to work.

[Megan Morant]

No more titles.

[Sam Roberts]

No. When it's time to go, you lose and you go home. It's not like you go on your back, right? You don't go, oh, it's my last match. I'm going to win the championship.

[Megan Morant]

I'm taking this with me.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, we need the championship, you guys. You can't. And I would have to talk to the WWE Championship committee, I'm assuming there is one, and say, hey, if people are counting down the days, no more championship matches for people that may not have a lot of dances left on their card.

[Megan Morant]

Well, and then what's he going to do? It's like, but you said that was your last match. But maybe, like, Eddie. And be like, I lied.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe Goldberg lies, cheats, and steals. I don't know. It's possible he may be. Or I. Yeah, I don't know. But now, you know, who know what if Randy Orton beats Cody Rhodes, becomes the king of the ring. He fights Goldberg at SummerSlam. Stranger things have happened.

[Megan Morant]

But Goldberg said it's his last match.

[Sam Roberts]

But then he would also be the champion. I don't know, you see, there's a lot of intrigue. However. However, I think if you ask Gunther, and we do not have him on the show this time because he's very rude when he's on the show. We appreciate that he's been on the show. He's very rude. He would tell you this is a foolish conversation even to have.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, because he said Gunter is a one trick pony.

[Sam Roberts]

No, he said Goldberg. Said Goldberg. That's why he's rude. You say these things.

[Megan Morant]

I apologize.

[Sam Roberts]

This is.

[Megan Morant]

Gunter said that Goldberg is a one trick pony and that it is no longer 1999.

[Sam Roberts]

He did. He did. And we may be partying like it is, but it isn't. Ok. He comes out and Gunther has this way of saying Bill Goldberg's first and last name.

[Megan Morant]

It's my favorite.

[Sam Roberts]

It's very insulting. Like, I've never. I couldn't imagine, like, if it was like. Like, it would almost be like, if, like, like, listen, Sam Roberts. I'd be like, that's my name. Why are you saying it like that?

[Megan Morant]

Just the way he says Bill.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Bill Goldberg. Like, who are you doing the show with, Meghan Morant? You're just like, what? That's why it's my name.

[Megan Morant]

Why do you have to put a little stank on it?

[Sam Roberts]

I think it's because Goldberg is this, like, superhero. But then when. When you just. When you put the emphasis on Bill, it's like a guy named Bill.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, Gunter has this way about him where he kind of makes all of his opponents laughable. Because I think to Gunter, almost everyone is laughable.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, I would say that's a very fair assessment. I also don't love that Gunther has such a way with the English language. It's not even his first language. He just took that from us, too. He's better at that than we are as well. Thanks a lot for leaving nothing for us, Gunter. But so he gets in there and he says that Bill Goldberg ruined his championship celebration. And it's interesting with Gunther, right? Like, he's a. He's a. He's so atypical of not only champions, but just pro wrestlers in general. And I mean that in the best possible way because he will sit back and assess the situation and then give you his thoughts. When Goldberg came out last week and. And you had scenarios like this with Jay USO as well, and other opponents that Gunther has had. But when Goldberg comes out, Gunther kind of backs up and walks away, and he goes home and he sits with it for a while, and then he comes back this week and he's got a lot to get off his chest. He says Goldberg's a one trick pony. No, he's not a 58 year old one trick pony. Which, by the way, it's tough when you're a one trick pony as you get. I mean, any pony getting older, it's difficult. Pony. Being a pony is a young man's game. But a one short, like, is Goldberg a one trick? You know, you know, this is an old.

[Megan Morant]

I think if you still have a trick at 58, you're doing pretty good, right?

[Sam Roberts]

That's the thing. Goldberg's one trick is literally one of the greatest tricks of all time. Like, Goldberg's one trick beat everybody. I mean, everybody. Yeah, he beat everyone. He beat Hogan in the Georgia Dome. One trick pony. Like, he beat everyone.

[Megan Morant]

The trick's working.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. So this one trick, don't get caught in the one trick.

[Megan Morant]

But I do like what you point out about Gunter, because we see a lot of people acting with pure emotions. And Gunter is a superstar, is a champion. That doesn't do that. He processes.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. When he starts to feel emotion, and maybe that's what it is. Like, most people retreat when they're scared. For Gunther, it's almost like I'm feeling emotion. I need to leave, right? I'm feeling. I need to go get this feeling away from me and let my brain take over again. Because, you know, we make mistakes when we go off of our feelings.

[Megan Morant]

And then he comes back with straight insight, right?

[Sam Roberts]

58 year old one trick pony. Then he apologizes in advance and he says, I apologize in advance to the wife and the son of the man who used to be Goldberg. And it's just like when you're Goldberg. He said, he said his age. He said, I know, I'm 58. In the interview with Michael Cole, like, he's aware of this and aware that there is this. Like, what does Goldberg at 58, we know what Goldberg looks like. What does Goldberg at 58 look like? And the fact that Gunther is really making it like the man who used to be Goldberg. That's not what Bill Goldberg wants to hear right now. And then he says, Gunther says that he feels that he has a responsibility to kill Goldberg's legacy, to just dismantle it. And I start going, huh? You know, I. I've been podcasting about this fantasy world where, like, Goldberg could win the title. Maybe he goes to SummerSlam, maybe, whatever. I mean, I'm mad. Go like, who would have thought Goldberg beats Gunther at Saturday night's main event. But then Gunther said, I've taken it as my responsibility to kill Goldberg's legacy. And I realized there I was fantasizing again about who might beat Gunther. And what do we talk about? What happens when you fantasize about the person who's going to beat Gunther? Who brings you back to reality?

[Megan Morant]

Goldberg.

[Sam Roberts]

Go. You think Goldberg.

[Megan Morant]

Well, no. When you fantasize about who's going to beat. I mean, Goldberg in this situation. Right?

[Sam Roberts]

No, no, no. Goldberg is this dream scenario.

[Megan Morant]

Dream scenario.

[Sam Roberts]

Can you imagine if.

[Megan Morant]

But.

[Sam Roberts]

But you're lost up there, and can you imagine if. And can you die every single time? Can you imagine if Jey USO was able to beat Gunther again? Can you imagine if this one could beat Gunther? And Gunther's like, imagine all you want.

[Megan Morant]

This is the reality.

[Sam Roberts]

This is a.

[Megan Morant]

This is inevitable.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. This is the crushing reality that is Gunther is.

[Megan Morant]

Is Goldberg's.

[Sam Roberts]

It's a lot of GS.

[Megan Morant]

A lot of GS. Is Goldberg's legacy solidified enough that it can't be touched?

[Sam Roberts]

No, you could touch. Here's the thing. You could touch any legacy, especially if you're in the ring doing the thing. Like, I mean, losing doesn't destroy legacy, but, like, Gunther, embarrassing him, that would be tough to get past. That'd be really difficult. I mean, dude, there is so much going on right now. We were talking about the King of the Ring. We're talking about Goldberg and Gunther. But we also have our Queen of the Ring final solidified. Asuka and Jake Cargill go to Night of Champions to compete for the Queen of the Ring. And that leads us to our first guest here on Raw. Recap. We're going to get right back to it in a minute, but I want to provide a service to you. My life just got easier, and I want yours to get easier, too. How did my life get easier? See, this thing that I got in my hand right now? It's a Ridge wallet. This is my whole wallet right here. And you might be saying to yourself, sam, are you crazy just showing the world your wallet? What about those scanners that can get through stuff and. And. And get your code and get your card information and get your. Not with the Ridge wallet. It's not going to happen. Not only is it secure, but it is easy. It fits right in your pocket. You put your cards in here, you can get anywhere from 1 to 15 cards in this Ridge wallet. You just pull them out, bada bing, bada boom. No problem. It's got your cash strap on the back, you want to carry around some loose bills, that's no problem either. These things come in every color that you can possibly conceive of, and they are so convenient wherever you're going, if you're going to an airport, if you're just driving around and. And. And you got all these cards on you. You know, for guys, it's like we either have those big, thick Costanza wallets, or we just have cards floating around in our pockets and we can never find anything. This is the end of all of it. Not only are you secured, but people are going to think that you're more organized than you've ever been in your life. It's just a good look. Okay, Upgrade your wallet today. You can get 10% off right now at Ridge with code RAW RECAP. That's ridge.com/raw recap. You get 10% off. And when I see you and you see me, we say hello to each other, wallet buddies, slap wallets. It'll be great. Ridge.com raw recap. Get your 10% off and be a wallet buddy. Joining us from backstage at Monday Night Raw, right before she heads to the King and the Queen of the Ring to the finals of that Queen of the Ring tournament, Jade Cargill. How are you feeling?

[Jade Cargill]

I'm doing great, guys. How are you all?

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, we're great. We got to, of course, just watch you qualify for the finals of this Queen of the Ring tournament. And I feel like this has been something that has been brewing now not only since you first arrived in wwe, but literally since the moment it was announced that WWE had made this signing that Jade Cargill was coming to wwe. Really, the only place that fans like myself were putting you was in the main event. And the question became, when does she get there? The question, it became all about potential. And the potential of Jade. When do we see that potential executed? It feels like we're on the precipice, finally, of seeing that potential be executed. How has it felt for you to be on this journey? Kind of knowing that that's. That's what we've been waiting for?

[Jade Cargill]

It feels great. You know, I'm by myself now, right? So I'm out here. I have to kill it. Like, I have no choice. I have to go out there and deliver. I've been waiting for this moment. You know, I'm. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to go on the ring and show everybody what I've learned at the PC and learn from my peers here at wwe. It's a long time coming. And the crazy thing is I have so much more to do.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Is it for you as a. As a human, as an athlete, is it difficult to hear, Just trust the process. You'll get there when the time is right. Or. Or are you a person that does kind of trust that process and doesn't mind taking your time?

[Jade Cargill]

It's a tricky game, right?

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah.

[Jade Cargill]

Being an athlete all my life, you know, sometimes you just have no choice. And in this industry, obviously, you just have to. You have no choice. And when you have that time, that minute, that second, those 15, whatever it is, you have to go out there and deliver. I had no choice but to trust the process. But one thing I do is I do trust the process, but also I have to do my part into bringing that process into rotation. And if I just continue to go out there, deliver, deliver, deliver, the sky's the limit.

[Sam Roberts]

It does feel like a lot of pressure for somebody like you. It feels like a lot of pressure, like the minute you step foot. It's not like. Like that to an extent. I don't. I think there were a lot of people not really willing on the fan side to give it time. A lot of us were going, no, no, no, no, no, no. Look at the presentation. Look at what this looks like. Look at what this can be. Now is the time. And for you to kind of have to. Every single time that that entrance hits, deliver on that level in the ring and show that, like, yes, I am that. That superstar that you see in front of you, that feels like a lot.

[Jade Cargill]

You know, pressure makes diamonds. I welcome it. I love it. I've dealt with pressure my entire life playing sports. You know, I'm the one that wants to hit the game winner. You know, I started my first match on national TV with Cody Rhodes. You know, I'm used to the pressure. You know, it's all about how you deliver. It's about breathing, it's about delivering. But also, again, we have a stellar locker room, you know, and everybody wants everyone to elevate and get better. And I'm not going to just show up. I'm going to show up and show out.

[Sam Roberts]

Is there any. No pressure, pressure. Is there any part of you that wonders now, okay, we are within two matches of being a world champion, right? For, For. For whichever type, you're within two matches right now, which is closer than you've ever been. But at the same time, if you go to the finals of this tournament and Asuka beats you, where do we go from there?

[Jade Cargill]

We need to reword that. Go back, go back, go back.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay.

[Jade Cargill]

Please.

[Sam Roberts]

If when I see there is no. You're saying this is a scenario. This scenario that I've painted is not one that exists in the world of Jade Cargill.

[Jade Cargill]

No. It's black or white.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Jade Cargill]

It's when. But I love it. Keep. Keep going. I'm listening. I love this.

[Megan Morant]

Well, you said you're going to win, so that would mean that you were Queen of the ring and then you would have a world title opportunity. But perhaps the most dangerous woman in WWE holds the Money in the bank briefcase. And you two have quite the history. Have you. Have you at all thought about that or are you just focused right now on Asuka?

[Jade Cargill]

You asked me, she's Speed Gonzalez. So you tell me what I should be afraid of. If anything, she should be afraid of me. She always sneak attacks me. That's what she's great at. She's a specialist in that. I think that she's great. She's great at running. So should I be worried? No, I'm not worried about anything. This is what I do. I'm going to go out there and deliver and I wish her the best. It sounds like a failed cash in to me.

[Sam Roberts]

Unfortunately. Right.

[Jade Cargill]

I'm just saying you got to believe in yourself, guys.

[Sam Roberts]

No, you're 100% right. You're on the right track. What did. Being in the tag team division for as long as you were and as dominant as you were, I felt like you and Bianca did a lot not only for yourselves, but also for the titles themselves. It became, I think bigger when. When you guys held the women's Tag Team championship. What did that. Being a part of that team, which hadn't really done before on that level, like being a regular part of a team, especially with somebody like Bianca Belair as a performer, what did that do for you?

[Jade Cargill]

It was great. You know, we both came together. We thought it would be great for the division to elevate the tag team titles and bring that light, that aura to those titles. And we did exactly that. It's sad the way things went about, but while we were in it, I thought that we had fun. We delivered. We were two powerhouses out there showing up and shining, and now we're on to the next.

[Sam Roberts]

I want to go back to your. Your first appearance in WWE at that Royal Rumble, when that. When that. When your name flashed across the screen and it got the reaction that it got, I would imagine for somebody in the position that you're in, that's kind of this Sort of make or break moment to start things right? Like, people say they care. Do they care? How did it feel the first time you stepped foot into a WWE arena on a stage that big and then got in the ring and listened to what people were anticipating?

[Jade Cargill]

I don't get nervous. I was nervous, though. I was very nervous because I didn't know how the crowd would react. You know, I was. I was training for a while, you know, so I didn't know the response. I was more nervous about, okay, will I get a response? Is it going to be a good response? You know, is it going to be perceived as a healthy response? So that was more so what I was living through in real time. Like, I was. I came out and I was like, okay, all right, all right, all right, all right.

[Sam Roberts]

Wow.

[Jade Cargill]

That's what I was feeling. I don't get nervous, but that I had got nervous about. I was breathing. Everybody was like, it's okay. You got it. You got it. And again, like, I'm going to keep on putting over these phenomenal women. You know, I'm in there with phenomenal women, women and had nothing to worry about.

[Megan Morant]

Well, I mean, there was quite the reaction when you appeared at the Royal Rumble every time that you make your entrance. And we talked earlier in this interview about those expectations. Was it ever difficult for you at all being received by the women's locker room? You know, you came in with so much fanfare and hype, and everybody was talking about how Jade Cargill signed with wwe.

[Jade Cargill]

You know, they just want to make sure I was hungry, you know, and I was here to elevate the locker room and to put the work in right. You know, you want someone that's a part of the locker room that is hungry, that is willing to go out there and do what it takes to become a champion and climb that ladder. You know, it was very welcoming, very warm, but obviously they don't know me. Only person I knew prior, sadly was Naomi to come in here. But the reception was great. Everybody was very warm, welcoming. But again, anybody that comes to any locker room, you just want to make sure that they're going to do right for the locker room and elevate the division. And. And that's. That's all. That's all they wanted to see.

[Megan Morant]

And you talked about how you've been putting the work in for years and how you've been training down in the PC, who is one person down in Orlando at the performance center that really helped elevate Jade Cargill to put you in this Position where you're now one win away from becoming quite queen of the ring.

[Jade Cargill]

Let's see. Terry. Terry Taylor. Terry Taylor. I would say regal. Regal as well. Those are more so the unspoken voices that always check in with me, make sure I'm good. And they're very cut dry. As in, if it's something that they see that they don't like, they're very much like, no, just throw that away. We're moving on. Because they want the best for me. Right. And because, like you said, I have so much pressure on my back, somebody else can go out there and make a mistake and they're like, oh, okay, it's fine. Like, that person, this, you know, they're fine. If I go out there and I make that mistake, it's like, oh, no, I told you, I told you, I told you. Even though I've executed this move about five times, it's that one time. And it's just that perception, because they know that I have such pressure on my back. They want the best for me. So if they see something that's not going to be perceived as a positive notion, they're cutting it right then and there. And I appreciate them for that.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. And because I think that you know what the intention is, right? That you can. I think that's what. When you can trust the intention of what it is, that people understand what it is that you're going for, then you realize we have the same goal here. So even if this is tough to hear there, I love it, though.

[Jade Cargill]

I love that, you know, me being an athlete, I'd rather you tell me what it is rather than what is not or baby me, you know, like, tell me what it is. I'm here to get better. I'm here to be a legend. I'm not here to blend in. I'm here to stand out. You know, I'm here to make a name for myself. I said that from day one, and I'm going to continue to do that. And so. And they know that, and they want this vision to come to fruition. So because of that, they're not going to baby me, and they're going to make sure that I'm doing what needs to be done and put in the work and to show what I've been doing.

[Sam Roberts]

And I mean, you talk about, like. Like opportunity to show what you're doing. You have Oscar in the finals of this tournament, and Oscar is somebody. Listen, listen. Oscar has been. Oscar has been off tv. Oscar is somebody that. That fans know. When you put Oscar's name on a poster for a premium live event and say, our women's main event of this show is featuring Oscar. You're in for a fight. You're in for a classic match. You're in for a knockdown drag out. Like, this is an Oscar ple match, and this is the match that you find yourself in. And pressure being what pressure is, it feels like this is an opportunity for you to go, listen, it's not just an Oscar match. Look at who the dance partner is.

[Jade Cargill]

Yes. Yes. Again. You know, I'm not nervous. And I think that more so than anything, when people ask me, you know, they talk about pressure and they talk about nerves. I'm like, no, don't bring that to me. Don't. Don't put that on me, because I'm fine. I got this. I can breathe. I got this. I got this. Asuka is phenomenal. She's a veteran. She can go. She's had wrestle matches up, Wrestlemania matches up on WrestleMania matches. She's one of the best female wrestlers in our locker room. You know, she's proved herself, and I'm thankful to even be in the ring with her and to show people what I'm about to go out there and do. So I'm going to go out there and deliver. I'm going to put on a hell of a match with Oscar, and I'm gonna come out on top.

[Sam Roberts]

I've always felt that, like, for a superstar, to be a superstar, to be truly like one of these larger than life action figures, come into reality like you are, that you look. It's one thing to see the sort of the presentation and the. And the wardrobe and the body and the everything, but it's always for me, looking in a performer's eyes, the minute I see doubt in the eyes, I'm like, I'm out. I'm done. Like, you know, if this person doesn't believe it, I don't believe it. But I feel like from the very beginning, even before you got to wwe, that was one of those things that made Jade Cargill. Jade Cargill was that. I don't know that I've ever seen in your face, Especially as you're coming to the ring, an ounce of doubt, an ounce of like, oh, all this just for me, it just like all these moments you have the ability to go, no, this is exactly where I belong. Is that something that you've always had? Have you always had that level of confidence or was there a moment where it goes, yeah, this is who I am? And not only do I belong in this world. This world is actually mine.

[Jade Cargill]

No, I haven't always had it, you know, but I had a very loving family that supported me that told me, you know, you're destined to do great things in this life and with care and support that I have. That's something that was instilled, instilled in me growing up. And that's something that became a mantra. And it's something that nobody can take from me, you know, only one you. You know, it's only one you. You have one life. You need to go out there and take life by the horns and deliver. You know, no one could, no one should, and no one can tell you who you are. And so I'm gonna go out there and I'm represent, regardless of how people feel about me. Because at the end of the day, only person that has to sit here in this body and deal with this is me. Nobody else. Nobody's gonna tell me what I'm gonna do, what I'm gonna believe, and. And where I'm going to be in five years.

[Sam Roberts]

Bloody.

[Jade Cargill]

I'm going to be the playmaker. I am control of my destiny in regards to anybody else. So doubt is just a word. It's a word that I don't believe in. If it enters my mind, like I said, I take it off. I'm like, get it out. That's just something I don't believe in. I believe so much in what I do because I put in the work and I put in the time. I believe in it, you know, I put in the work. So there's. There's nothing that anybody can say that makes me feel like I'm shook.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, well, listen, I can't wait for. For Night of Champions, because I feel like this is the moment where we find out if this is the moment. Does that make sense? This is when we find out. Is this just another. No, no, no, it's not yet. But trust the process. Or is this the moment? To me, it's the. It's the. It's the tournament, it's the crown. It's the fact that, you know, the next stop is SummerSlam in New Jersey in a stadium full of people. But ultimately, it has the potential to be this culmination of the journey that has been Jade Cargill. At least this chapter, right, of Jade Cargill. Cause this isn't. There's no finality to this, but it is sort of. This is where we've been going. Let's see if we're getting to where we've been Going. So I'm excited, and I appreciate you making some time for us tonight, Jade.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. Good luck, Jade.

[Jade Cargill]

Oh, it's so crazy. Started to prolong this.

[Sam Roberts]

No, please do.

[Jade Cargill]

As we were everywhere so much I haven't had time to really sit here and to digest everything that you just said. You know, I didn't think like that. I'm like, all right, I have now. I have a match on Saturday. Very important. Ple. Queen of the ring. That's amazing. You know, But I didn't think of what comes after that when I win, you know, I didn't. I'm not thinking of all that. You know, I'm kind of just trying to make it to the next day, you know, like, live in the moment. And right now, you're putting things. I got goosebumps. You're putting things in perspective for me, and I feel like, wow. Wow. It's the summer of Jade. And that fires me up. And I'm just so excited, and I'm happy to have the fans along for this ride and to see me grow and develop in this industry. I'm very thankful for them, because who am I without my fans? But you guys, oh, my gosh. I'm getting goosebumps because I didn't think of that. So thank you for allowing me to slow down right now and put these things in perspective and to be grateful of the position I'm in, because a lot of people don't get this position. And, yeah, like, yeah, I'm gonna deliver and go out there and do my thing. So thanks.

[Sam Roberts]

Whoa. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Jade Cargill]

I got goosebumps.

[Sam Roberts]

You've earned those goosebumps, Jade. You've earned those goosebumps. Thank you.

[Jade Cargill]

No, thank you. All right, I'm back.

[Sam Roberts]

That was awesome. Thank you so much.

[Megan Morant]

Thank you so much.

[Sam Roberts]

The world is full of tours, but you don't choose a Toyota truck to follow the beaten path. You choose it to find the places in between the detours, where each adventure pulls you toward the next. And wrong turns turn out right. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota trucks. We made Jade Cargill feel goosebumps. I mean, what an accomplishment.

[Megan Morant]

I. I mean, I felt goosebumps the first time I ever saw Jade Cargill on my screen at the Royal Rumble.

[Sam Roberts]

And she felt goosebumps. Goosebumps the first time she was on Raw. Recap. So it's equal. It's equal. Just a bunch of superstars talking about superstar stuff. That's all that is.

[Jade Cargill]

That's great.

[Sam Roberts]

Listen, it's going to be great. I can't wait. It's hard not to root for Jade Cargill listening that conversation. But, I mean, I've been there since the beginning of Oscar in the wwe, nobody's ready for Oscar Wilde. You know, you can't forget. Not only is it like Oscar, but it's newly returned Oscar. And once she's out there, it's like, I mean, who's better than Oscar?

[Megan Morant]

No one.

[Sam Roberts]

It's just the best. Just the best. I was. You know, it was a very interesting night for Roxanne Perez, who Roxanne did lose her qualifying match against Jade Cargill. But, you know, I always, like, you got to diversify, right. So if you. If you don't want to walk out with an L, diversify, you know, go over here, go over there. You know, maybe this one doesn't work out, but this one over here.

[Megan Morant]

You can't lose them all, right?

[Sam Roberts]

Exactly.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, you could, but you'll.

[Sam Roberts]

If you're good, you'll find a dub somewhere.

[Megan Morant]

That's right.

[Sam Roberts]

And I feel like that's the mission. Roxanne Perez has been.

[Megan Morant]

Well, because it was a little tough for Roxanne. She loses the queen of the ring qualifier, and she didn't really get recognition from dirty Dom either.

[Sam Roberts]

Nah, bro.

[Megan Morant]

In the clubhouse. So that's another. That might be another L. She was searching for a dub.

[Sam Roberts]

That's right. That's 100% right.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, Dom gave her, like, a good luck.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, bro, but that's cool. It's Dom, you know, I mean, I mean, if Dom say good luck to me in any way, I'd be like, thanks, man.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, don't you think Roxanne would have wanted a little more emotion? Like, he's gorgeous.

[Sam Roberts]

I don't know. I don't know. I don't speak for Roxanne. I don't know.

[Megan Morant]

But anyway, she was searching.

[Sam Roberts]

Sounds like you're speaking for yourself a little bit. But. But she walks in to the building with Finn Balor. She's in the Judgment day clubhouse. It feels like people say what they want. Finn Balor bringing people together a little bit feels like Finn Balor is there, supporting people live. Morgan, of course, gone with her injury, unfortunately. Dominic Mysterio unable to compete against AJ Styles, but still there. Not. Not, you know, with an injury that should clear up pretty quickly. Finn Balor using that opportunity to bring people together. He was hyping up everybody.

[Megan Morant]

Or do you think it's like, next man up mentality right in the judgment Day like, lives out. We got to go next man up. And that might be Roxanne.

[Sam Roberts]

Right? Right. Because this thing keeps moving, you know? And look, I mean, I don't.

[Megan Morant]

I don't like it because I think I'm Team Live, okay? But I do. Like, this is tough because I feel like Finn doesn't have the best of intentions.

[Sam Roberts]

There's no way. What makes you feel that way?

[Megan Morant]

I see past Finn Balor and his smirk.

[Sam Roberts]

Even behind all that beard.

[Megan Morant]

The pot. He doesn't forget about what happened at WrestleMania.

[Sam Roberts]

Finn Balor smiles a lot.

[Megan Morant]

Like it doesn't bother him, but it bothers him.

[Sam Roberts]

You think so?

[Megan Morant]

Oh, without a doubt.

[Sam Roberts]

It's under that muscular Irish skin.

[Megan Morant]

And he's hiding behind the smile.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, well, he's smiling about something. But by the end of the night, Raquel comes out, calls out Rhea Ripley. Which I'm like, that's nuts. Don't call out Rhea Ripley. But she called out Rhea Ripley. Rhea comes out first. Doesn't go right for Raquel. Then it starts to go right for Raquel.

[Megan Morant]

You convinced her to call out Rhea Ripley.

[Sam Roberts]

It was Finn Balor's advice. But listen, all's well that ends well. I was wrong when I said don't call her out. I was wrong because all's well that ends well. I was being intimidated by it because I forgot I don't have a group as strong as the Judgment Day watching my back. I got you. You know what I mean? So it doesn't work for me as well.

[Megan Morant]

So, wow, thanks.

[Sam Roberts]

Well, yeah. That's why I can't call out Rhea Ripley. Okay. Do you blame me? Do you have my back?

[Megan Morant]

I would. I mean, I would have your back, but it would be useless.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay.

[Megan Morant]

Ripley, come on.

[Sam Roberts]

At least I do appreciate it. I appreciate the attempt. But it go. Raquel starts to gain a little control, loses control again. And then who's out to help Raquel but Roxanne Perez. Even after losing the qualifier, she's back in. Causes enough distraction that they snap Rhea Ripley through a Slim Jim table now. And look, Dubs for the Judgment Day tonight.

[Megan Morant]

Dubs Roxanne Perez.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. And I tell you, you say what you want about Dominic Mysterio. There were quite a few. Yeah. I mean, listen, how often. How often do you see Rhea Ripley flat on her back, snapped through a table? Seldom. Yes, seldom.

[Megan Morant]

Never.

[Sam Roberts]

But it happened thanks to the unity of the Judgment Day. And you're over here talking wise about Dominic Mysterio. But you were there. You saw it this weekend. New York City fanatics Fest. We saw more than one little tiny Dominic Mysterio. We saw more than one kid come out to the Dominic Mysterio entrance music.

[Megan Morant]

And I saw you turn into a little kid. Every time the music hit, I got so excited thinking that it was gonna be the one and only Dirty Dom.

[Sam Roberts]

And then it wasn't. But then I started to get happy again because I go, there is a future for this country. Look at these smart little kids. Look at that. I had no faith in them.

[Megan Morant]

The next generation is in great hands.

[Sam Roberts]

Dominic Mysterio is their mentor. Absolutely. Absolutely. We were. We got to go to Fanatics Fest this weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it was the two of us along with Kathy Kelly. We were judging every Superstar entrance that came through as far as part of Fanatics games. And I mean, listen, when in life. Are you there?

[Megan Morant]

There we are.

[Sam Roberts]

First of all, look at this. Is this is. This was right after a Stone Cold entrance.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, it was.

[Sam Roberts]

Somebody was crushing Stone Cold's real Broken.

[Megan Morant]

Skull ipa and they said, does anybody want the rest of this beer? And I said, me.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay. That was. Yeah. And I didn't think that was the most professional.

[Megan Morant]

I said, I'll have it. And so then I was sipping on the beer and eating Smart pop.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, you eat popcorn and drinking beer. I said, you got to where you at the ballpark. Yeah.

[Megan Morant]

You told me I was trash.

[Sam Roberts]

I said you were trash.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

You look like you're in like. Like you look like you're watching a White Sox game.

[Megan Morant]

I said I looked like I was a good American. Well, it looked relatable. Drinking a beer, eating some popcorn.

[Sam Roberts]

You do look like a good American.

[Megan Morant]

You looked a little high brow over there with your Travis Scott shoes on.

[Sam Roberts]

With my jaw agape.

[Megan Morant]

Angle of you.

[Sam Roberts]

I can't believe what's happened here. Look, there were a lot of. Of great moments for me. The idea that Tom Brady said, hey, Sam, what do you think of my entrance? When will I ever get to rate.

[Megan Morant]

Tom Brady on my former colleague Tom Brady?

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah. Wow. Wow. Now you're in a superior position. There's a power dynamic.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

You're in charge. Where the judges.

[Megan Morant]

It is pretty wild that the celebrities that participated in the WWE entrance and how into it they all got. They. And I mean, when I talk about going all in in the Superstar entrance, I think about James Harden.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, my God, Harden was incredible. Dressed up as Hulk Hogan and he.

[Megan Morant]

Leaned into every single boo. And James Harden. Is it heel in the NBA, Right. And so he said, I'm going to go out and do What I do.

[Sam Roberts]

Best right already, by the way, an all time meme guy. And now then to go and do something. Now he's got. And he had full Hogan regalia, He had a red bandana on. He had the whole. But like the whole yellow shirt, red pants. It was really spectacular. But I've got to say, like, there were WWE Superstars that were also doing this entrance. Of course, we also got. Yeah, this was the Triple H water spit competition that we got to judge. That was a lot of fun. But we had WWE Superstars that were there as a part of this thing. And most of them did their own entrance. And because of it, you know, they did very, very well. But there was one WWE Superstar that went so far out of the norm of what their entrance is, I didn't know what was going on in front of me. We're sitting there at that judge's table and John Cena's music starts playing. And when he starts running down the aisle, the first thing I'm thinking is, oh, cool, he's doing his running entrance again. And when he doesn't stop, when I realize he's not stopping, and a man the size of John Cena jumps over the table and into my arms. I mean, it might as well have been a Mack truck. I was hoping I wasn't gonna get flattened by this thing. And then when I realize, okay, I'm not flattened. I didn't fall out of my chair. I'm okay. And I realize I'm in a deep, warm embrace with the never seen 17. I go, what planet am I on? Only a fanatics fest. What planet am I on? I mean, if you're watching this on YouTube, you can see the video. You could see. I go, I can't believe this is happening. It's literally the greatest hug I've ever felt.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, you talk about walking down an aisle. The moment you see Cena running towards the table, fell over, that that has to be up. This might be the year 2025, might be the year of Sam.

[Sam Roberts]

How does it get better?

[Megan Morant]

You have the Rock saying he listens to your show.

[Sam Roberts]

I didn't even think about it.

[Megan Morant]

You have John Cena running down the.

[Sam Roberts]

Ramp, and if you're watching Instagram to.

[Megan Morant]

Give you a hug.

[Sam Roberts]

And by the way, Triple H gave me a knife the other day for opening cards. This is the life I'm living right now.

[Megan Morant]

Well, I thought I was doing well having a kid in 2025, but I think you one up me, I don't.

[Sam Roberts]

Think anybody remembers that. You Had a kid. They're all talking about the knife and the hug that everybody's talking about the.

[Megan Morant]

Year of Sam Roberts. I mean, it just. I don't know. Every week I go, how is Sam going to top this one? And you continue to do it.

[Sam Roberts]

I figured it out. I know how I'm going to top this one.

[Megan Morant]

Is the phone okay?

[Sam Roberts]

No, there's scuffs all over it, but they're my John Cena scuffs, so I don't mind it.

[Megan Morant]

Well, I love it because I've always called you out for not having a case on your phone. And as your phone is on the ground turned upside down and John Cena runs away, I said to you, that phone's 100% gonna be cracked. And you said, yeah, I don't care.

[Sam Roberts]

Right. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. People. Go. How can you have no case on your phone? When you looked at. It was glass first on concrete.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

After John Cena had knocked it down. Tell me the truth. Was I just saying it? Did I care?

[Megan Morant]

Didn't care whatsoever.

[Sam Roberts]

No, no, no. He could have my phone.

[Megan Morant]

You probably didn't wash the clothes you wore, because that's your John Cena hug outfit.

[Sam Roberts]

I'm still wearing them. That's. That's stinky hugged me. Yeah. Well, listen, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. I'll tell you. I'm gonna one up it. Okay. I'm gonna look cooler than I've ever looked before. You know how I'm gonna do that? And I know you're thinking how I don't understand how anybody could look. I am. I know how I'm gonna look cooler than ever before. That's with the Fanatics Fest antisocial social club WWE collaboration. People said, oh, we can only get this at Fanatics Fest. What if I missed out? Well, good news right now. If you missed out on this, if you weren't there and got to get your hands on that merch, you can get the merch right now. If you. If you. If you. If you missed the gear, the WWE just dropped the Antisocial Social Club official collab. You can check it out now. Get some of the limited edition items. They're not going to last at WWE shop. You can get on the Fanatics app. You can get it all over the place. So if you missed it and you want to live vicariously through the gear that I'm going to be getting to remember, remind me of the time John Cena gave me a big hug. Get the gear. It's it's really, really cool. Okay. I told you.

[Megan Morant]

It's interesting how you left out one crucial moment during our superstar entrances that we were judging. How you were just flat out disrespectful to the goat, Becky Lynch.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, he meant Tom Brady.

[Megan Morant]

Every other superstar that did their own entrance you gave a 10 to Becky. Comes out phenomenal performance. Looking better than ever. She has this awesome orange jacket on.

[Sam Roberts]

She looks jacket cool.

[Megan Morant]

Did her entrance. Everybody's on their feet and you and Kathy Kelly have so much disrespect that you give her a nine.

[Sam Roberts]

She what it was. She came.

[Megan Morant]

Every other superstar that did their own entrance got a 10. It. And I just had personal issues with her.

[Sam Roberts]

I don't have any personal issues with Becky Lynch.

[Megan Morant]

Then what was the reason for the nine?

[Sam Roberts]

Because she didn't give it her all. She came in with a chip on her shoulder like. Like, we were lucky she was there.

[Megan Morant]

We were lucky she was there. She changed the whole industry. She doesn't need to do anything.

[Sam Roberts]

We're at Fanatics fans. We're not changing the whole industry. Michael Rubin changed the whole industry. What are you talking about? Becky Lynch. It's Fanatics Fest.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

We're literally doing entrances. You're. I'm going like, oh, I'm going to give her a 10 on her superstar entrance at Fanatics Fest because she changed the whole industry.

[Megan Morant]

She deserves it.

[Sam Roberts]

Is there anything she doesn't deserve for changing the whole industry? No, you know, I deserve what? A nice clean finish on a women's intercontinental championship match. How about that? How about that?

[Megan Morant]

I mean, if Lyra had to get herself involved for no reason.

[Sam Roberts]

Wow.

[Megan Morant]

It wasn't even about Lyra tonight. It was about Becky and Bailey. And here comes the wangs.

[Sam Roberts]

Lyra's gonna get them wangs out on a Monday night. Okay, check the calendar.

[Megan Morant]

Lyra is obsessed with making this about her. Becky's been done with Lyra. Becky was done with Lyra long ago.

[Sam Roberts]

Lyra's the foundation.

[Megan Morant]

She interfered with Becky's money in the bank qualifying match, inserted herself back into the story, and Becky's won the intercontinental championship from Lyra. And Lyra just can't get over it. And she's got to interfere again. When Becky is trying to be a fighting champion and defend her title against.

[Sam Roberts]

Bailey, you know that she coaxed her into hitting her so she lost by dq or one by dq.

[Megan Morant]

I don't know why Lyra had to insert herself into.

[Sam Roberts]

You don't think Becky look kind of happy about the result?

[Megan Morant]

No, I think Becky. Well, I mean, she should be happy about the result because she still won the champ. She still has her championship. So why wouldn't she be happy she's going home as the champion?

[Sam Roberts]

I don't know.

[Megan Morant]

Wouldn't you be happy if you're going home as the champion? Look at Becky going home with the gold to her husband. Good for her, right?

[Sam Roberts]

No. Shout out to Seth. No, I was just thinking about integrity. That's all.

[Megan Morant]

It's about winning.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, okay.

[Megan Morant]

It's about winning.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay. What about winging? You know what I'm saying? Get them wangs out.

[Megan Morant]

I just don't understand why she was there.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay, well, it's Monday night. We get them wings. Well.

[Megan Morant]

And Corey Graves is going on. Oh, Bailey.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh.

[Megan Morant]

She goes down to NXT and she helps everyone. What about Becky? Becky went down to nxt. She was the NXT champion. She was n. Bec. And who. Who was she helping when she was down there? Lyra. Lyra beat Becky down in nxt and then was Lyra do. She turns on Becky and she has to make it all about herself again. So I don't blame Becky for not going down. I don't show.

[Sam Roberts]

Are you watching Lyra? Becky turn off Lyra.

[Megan Morant]

I don't know. I don't know. I think. I think it's the other way around, actually. Becky. I mean, Lyra always looked up to Becky, and then all of a sudden, now she's getting in her way.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, isn't that very Becky Hogan, that, like. Like, Bailey goes down to NXT and, like, just quietly helps everybody, and Becky goes down to NXT and takes the championship.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, she needed to show the women what it looks like to be a rightful champion.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

You need to teach them.

[Sam Roberts]

Becky going down. Bailey goes down and just goes to the performance center. We don't even know she's down there. Becky goes down and she becomes the champion, and she's like, I'm the one helping.

[Megan Morant]

She had to show everyone how it's.

[Sam Roberts]

Done by taking the title for herself.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah. And then she had a great match with Lyra, and then Lyra went on her reign, and then Lyra had respect.

[Sam Roberts]

And Becky's great match with Lyra had nothing to do with Lyra was just.

[Megan Morant]

I mean, back then, that was when Lyra still respected Becky, and now Lyra just is running out and interfering in matches. Let it go.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, I didn't even think about it like that.

[Megan Morant]

Well, we got a big obsessed with Becky Lynch.

[Sam Roberts]

You think so?

[Megan Morant]

Yeah.

[Sam Roberts]

I wonder why. What reason could you Possibly have to be upset about with Becky Lynch.

[Megan Morant]

He's obsessed. Not upset. Obsessed. Obsessed with Becky Lynch. I mean, I can't relate about being.

[Sam Roberts]

Obsessed with Becky Lynch. I mean, you don't know anything about that.

[Megan Morant]

No, not one thing.

[Sam Roberts]

It's not. And it's not at all uncomfortable for everyone around you. Meghan does the show like this, like when we're not doing the show. It's weird. It's probably footage of it. It's not healthy. You got a problem.

[Megan Morant]

I. I'll save this for therapy.

[Sam Roberts]

Okay, good, good, good. Listen, don't bring it here because we're going to meet again before next Monday. We have a big recap show coming after Night of Champions, which is this Saturday. Okay. I want to talk about this card a little bit because we've already talked about. Of course, because like, low key. Like, just listen to these four matches. This card is nuts. CM Punk versus John Cena. Cody Rhodes versus Randy Orton. Oscar versus Jade Cargill. Jacob Fatu versus Solo Sokoa.

[Megan Morant]

I don't know.

[Sam Roberts]

And you're just sitting there like, what? Like when. Like. Like under the radar. This is one of those cards that you're like, all on the same show. Yeah, all on the same show. It's nuts.

[Megan Morant]

And all with unbelievable stories attached to it.

[Sam Roberts]

All with unbelievable stories. So we talked about the king of the Ring finals and the Queen of the Ring finals, obviously. But I mean, I cannot wait for this Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa thing. Now tell me this. Maybe biggest match for Jacob Fatu thus far, Solo Sikoa. We have seen so many different. You know how I feel about Jacob Fatu. I love you, Jacob Fatu. We've seen so many sides of Solo Sokoa. We've seen Swaggy, we've seen a little Weasley. We've seen Enforcer, We've seen. And when they were on smackdown together and Jacob said, if you want this, you're gonna have to fight me for it. You know how I get down. And they were just looking at each other. And Solo was making his decision. Cause Solo was trying to bring Jacob back into the fold. But Solo went for the spike and Jacob caught it. Which version of Solo Sikoa do we see at Night of Champions?

[Megan Morant]

It can't be Swaggy, Solo. It can't be Swaggy. All gas, no brains, Solo, he got him. Because if he shows up like that tonight of Champions, there's no way that he stands a chance against Jacob Fatu.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, Solo, I think we might.

[Megan Morant]

Need to See a little bit of Enforcer Solo back in the day.

[Sam Roberts]

Solo Soko, the same Solo sokoto that put 16 spikes into John Cena.

[Megan Morant]

I think that's the solo SOA.

[Jade Cargill]

That's.

[Sam Roberts]

I mean, we saw business. That's right. We saw signs of that Solo Sooa in his match with Roman Reigns at the beginning of the year at the Netflix premiere. And while Solo Soko didn't beat Roman Reigns because now he beats the tribal chief, he gave a challenge to Roman Reigns. And I think you're right. I think you need to go back to that strong, silent type that mean Soloso. I think people need to. I think Solo needs to remind people that before there was this unpredictable force known as Jacob Fatu, Solo was that force, you know, and I'm. I'm anxious to see if that's what we see. But then, I mean, this CM Punk versus John Cena, if there was ever a time to recap smackdown ending smackdown with John Cena cutting that pipe bomb promo in. I mean, not only was it just a cool moment and a great promo, but one of the more poetic moments that I've seen in quite some time in WWE with all the different elements, the table R Truth being involved, everything, the words that Jon was using just being so clearly paralleled to that pipe bomb promo that CM punk cut in 2011. It's just interesting because we're all talking about. And you know what? We probably should have brought it up. We were talking about the King of the Ring because we were all talking about this one wants to face John Cena or this one. The fact is CM Punk is getting that title shot before anybody is in the King of the ring. And as much AS Randy Orton vs Goldberg could be your match, it could be Cody or Randy versus CM Punk at SummerSlam. How have you felt about going towards. Again, you go back to matches that the minute people realized were a possibility, they started talking about Cody versus Randy. The minute John Cena said, I'm coming back for a year and that's it. Punk was the first name on everybody's list. How do you feel about the fact that we're actually getting it?

[Megan Morant]

Well, it was kind of a question of how are we going to get there.

[Sam Roberts]

Right.

[Megan Morant]

And so we saw John Cena say, you know, if you want to fight me for this championship, you're going to have to do it at Night of Champions.

[Sam Roberts]

Yes.

[Megan Morant]

And so I'm excited about it. But until Friday night on smackdown, when you see John Cena cut the pipe from Pipe bomb promo, I have to be honest, before that happened, I said, you know, it's going to be a great match, but I need a little.

[Sam Roberts]

Bit, like, what is it?

[Megan Morant]

What is it? And that made it better than I could have ever imagined it to be.

[Sam Roberts]

Right. And then there was the hug at Fanatics Festival. You know, when John C. Gave me a hug.

[Megan Morant]

Oh, we're talking. I thought we were going to talk about the moment when John Cena did his entrance and Seth Rollins came out with the money in the bank briefcase.

[Sam Roberts]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Megan Morant]

Entered through the crowd, and then we had the stare down. Oh, yeah, forget about that.

[Sam Roberts]

I did. I was thinking about the hug again.

[Megan Morant]

It's so wild, because I feel like just a couple days ago, you were like, I'm out on Cena. He's ruining wrestling. I don't think. All of a sudden you're like, he cuts this unbelievable promo and then hugs you two days later.

[Sam Roberts]

And I'm pretty sure I didn't say that. I mean, that might have been somebody else.

[Megan Morant]

Oh, it might have been Peter Rosenberg.

[Sam Roberts]

We look alike. A lot of people get us confused.

[Megan Morant]

Yeah, I think it was Peter that said it.

[Sam Roberts]

Yeah, he would say something like that. Me? I don't think so. He's never seen 17 as far as I'm concerned. I can't wait for it. It is. It is a. It is a fantasy card, and we're gonna not only see it, but you and I will be here.

[Megan Morant]

Let's do it.

[Sam Roberts]

To recap the whole thing on Saturday, before we meet again, to recap next week's Monday Night Raw, which comes on at an earlier time, 6pm Eastern, here in the United States. Thank you all for being here with us. Don't forget to subscribe across all audio platforms. Apple, Spotify, check us out on YouTube, leave comments, hit like. And we'll see you in just a few days after Night of Champions.