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- [00:03]
A
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 us cellular.com/built for us to get started. What are the other things that are ironic, Jay? USO got choked out. Iyo sky is slapping people. AJ Styles is going to be on this show. Cody Rhodes has had enough, but put it all because the tribal chief is back. I'm Sam Roberts. That's Megan Morant. This is the Raw recap brought to you by WWE and Fanatics. Oh, my God. Megan. Megan. Megan. So much to do today. But the tribal chief, Roman Reigns, of all people, has returned. You and I are sitting here inside the Not Sam studio watching this classic steel cage match.
- [01:35]
B
And it was a classic.
- [01:37]
A
Unbelievable. And we'll get to all of it. Trust me when I tell you, nobody's getting shortchanged here. But we gotta start with the guy who's putting food on all of our tables. Cause he reminded us of that tonight. As that match was reaching its peak, when both men had nothing left to give. And we wondered, what gives? There was a tight shot on Seth Rollins, his face. And you could hear Madison Square Garden reacting. And you and I are asking, who is it? Who's coming out? Who's coming out? And then those big Samoan arms wrapped around the neck of Seth Rollins, pulling him outside the cage. And we find out your tribal chief. Our tribal chief, the only tribal chief, Roman Reigns, is back from whatever injuries that he had at the Royal Rumble. And his first order of business was to inflict bodily harm on Seth Rollins.
- [02:40]
B
40 days until WrestleMania. And we were wondering, how does the tribal chief make his way down this road to Las Vegas? How does the tribal chief insert himself here? And when that crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted in the way that they did, that is only for one guy, and that is Roman Reigns.
- [03:06]
A
This is real. We got to react in real time. I got, by the way, 39 days, Tuesday, 39 days. We're reacting in real time. Okay? Andrew Schultz is texting me right now from the front row. He was in the front row to see it all. And he just wrote, holy, You Know what? He's incredible.
- [03:29]
B
Wow.
- [03:30]
A
Talking about your tribal chief, Roman Reigns. So Roman Reigns came back and it's so funny that you say that. You're right. 39 days until WrestleMania. And the funny thing is, and we were talking about it on Nazi I'm Wrestling as well, that there was this conversation that was going on with wrestling fans that we were saying, you know what? There's so much going on in WWE right now. There's so much happening. There's so much meat on this bone with. With Jay and Gunther and. And. And IO and. And Bianca and Charlotte and Tiffany and. And John Cena and Cody Rhodes and the Rock and the final boss that they go, CM Punk and Seth Rollins, that they go.
- [04:11]
B
Drew McIntyre.
- [04:11]
A
Drew McIntyre. They go, you know what? Not only might Roman not be in the main event, but if Roman wasn't even on WrestleMania, I think it'd be okay. That's what a lot of us were saying it. Because sometimes we don't see what we need to see when it's not right in front of us. Because the minute Roman Reigns steps foot in a WWE arena, again, all of that goes out the window.
- [04:41]
B
That's the type of reaction you get. What you got from Andrew Schultz?
- [04:45]
A
Andrew Schultz, who, by the way, has seen it all. This guy has rubbed elbows. You see who shows up at his comedy shows. It's insane. And he's looking at Roman Reigns and going, he's incredible. Everything that that man, that Superstar did on Monday Night Raw was a reminder of why he's the tribal chief for everybody. And that's the thing about Roman Reigns. Yes, he knows exactly what he's doing. He doesn't do things to just play into his own ego. He doesn't show you everything that he's capable of. He waits until the moments that it matters. And he showed up in Madison Square Garden, waited for this moment that it mattered, and reminded everyone why he is head and shoulders above anybody else in wrestling right now. And I'm sorry if I'm fangirling out.
- [05:41]
B
But that's what you are, fangirling out.
- [05:43]
A
That's what's gonna happen when the tribal chief comes back and especially comes back like this. This wasn't. I mean, it wasn't even the pomp and circumstance. No, it wasn't. The music. It wasn't. This wasn't aura, Roman.
- [05:55]
B
No, it was not. Usually when you get the Roman return, like we saw at Bad Blood, the SummerSlam. Yep, SummerSlam. But he had that aura of bad blood, you know? Yeah. And it wasn't that. But we had a lot of questions after the Royal Rumble, right. We know Roman doesn't handle losing very well.
- [06:12]
A
Right.
- [06:13]
B
And we haven't seen him since he lost a match at the Royal Rumble. And a lot happened in the Royal Rumble between Roman and CM Punk and Roman and Seth freakin Rollins.
- [06:25]
A
Right?
- [06:25]
B
And there were questions like, who's Roman upset with?
- [06:29]
A
I mean, I think that that was first answered by saying he's clearly upset with Seth Rollins because Seth Rollins tried to and took pride in the fact that he put Roman Reigns on the shelf. And it's really interesting because last week on Raw, recap, go look back whether you're on Spotify or whether you're on Apple or Whether you're on YouTube, go look back at the Rollins interview that we did last week and listen to him when he says, Roman's like a brother. Any sort of animosity comes from a place of love. But CM Punk is somebody who I absolutely hate. When Roman Reigns showed up, Seth Rollins had a look on his face like his big brother was back to collect. Seth Rollins looked like he had seen a ghost when Roman Reigns showed up. And I'm going to tell you something right now. Roman Reigns was not coming from a place that's rooted in love.
- [07:16]
B
Not at all.
- [07:16]
A
Not at all. All.
- [07:18]
B
Not even in the slightest.
- [07:19]
A
Roman Reigns was coming from a place where it was, how dare you. Not that you tried to beat me, that you tried to take this away from me, that you tried to take me away from this. And you thought you had me. Rollins went on Raw and bragged that he had taken Roman Reigns out of the WrestleMania conversation, that he had injured him to the extent that Roman wouldn't be back for WrestleMania. And then those. Those cold arms of justice wrap around the neck of Seth Rollins, drag him out to the floor. And if, by the way, if it wasn't for pesky Adam Pierce and the.
- [07:55]
B
Pesky Hurricane, Seth Rollins career would probably be over.
- [07:59]
A
I don't know what Roman would have done with Seth's head sandwiched between Roman's foot or fist or whatever was coming or full body and that set of steel stairs.
- [08:11]
B
But then it gets juicier, which is unbelievable because the match alone, yeah, the amount of near falls.
- [08:20]
A
We'll get there. We'll get there. We'll get there.
- [08:23]
B
The steel cage match was just so beautiful.
- [08:26]
A
But that's what it was, though. It was one for the ages.
- [08:29]
B
Yes.
- [08:29]
A
And Roman was like, nah, nah.
- [08:33]
B
Because that's what he does now.
- [08:34]
A
Technically, Seth Rollins won the steel cage match Steel cage matches won by escape.
- [08:39]
B
But nobody's going to be talking about.
- [08:41]
A
The fact that Seth, listen, the graphic came up. CM Punk walked into Madison Square Garden 4 and. Oh, he walked out of Madison Square Garden 4 and 1. Seth Rollins beat CM Punk.
- [08:53]
B
I'm giving that a little asterisk.
- [08:55]
A
You can. Bobby Bonilla. Asterisks all you want. I don't believe in asterisks. Put them all in the hall of Fame. And this was a loss for CM Punk. However it happened, it happened. It was a bigger loss for CM Punk because Roman Reigns.
- [09:12]
B
I think it's a loss for everyone except Roman Reigns.
- [09:15]
A
Not for me. Not for me. You feel. Yeah, I mean, these emotions. This doesn't feel. I don't feel like a loser right now. I watch Roman as he turns and just looks into the cage. And this is like, this is what I talk about with Roman Reigns. Every single movement this guy makes, every expression he has with his face, his eyebrow, his eyeball, the way he twitches.
- [09:39]
B
His nose, the way his hair just falls off his shoulders.
- [09:43]
A
I mean, I don't know about hair, but most people, I would imagine, don't have control over the movement of their hair. But it seems like Roman Reigns does. He is so unbelievably in control, this guy, and dictates every emotion that he has. Every emotion that he wants you to feel is dictated by every movement that he makes. When he turns around and he looks inside that steel cage and he sees. And I think you didn't notice it at first because it just looked like somebody was helping CM Punk.
- [10:11]
B
It almost looked. And now that the officials wear these darker shirts.
- [10:15]
A
Yes, it's.
- [10:17]
B
Oh, somebody dressed in darker clothing.
- [10:20]
A
Right.
- [10:21]
B
Is helping CM Punk. He was just in a brutal cage match. It has to be unofficial.
- [10:27]
A
But I go before they do the camera. I told you. I go, oh, my God, that's a wise man.
- [10:30]
B
And I.
- [10:31]
A
You went, no. And then they showed it and you were like, oh, my God. Because, I mean, that's the thing, right, With Roman. You remember when the wise man wasn't picking up Roman Reigns call. I know you remember what that did to Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns has very few weaknesses, but Roman Reigns does not handle betrayal well. Ask Seth Rollins. Ask Sami Zayn. Ask any of the ungrateful people who have betrayed their tribal chief in the past.
- [10:59]
B
Doesn't handle losing.
- [11:00]
A
Ask Jay uso.
- [11:01]
B
Or betrayal.
- [11:02]
A
Well, right?
- [11:03]
B
And then we remember that CM Punk and Paul Heyman have such a deeply rooted history. And there's this carrot floating. This carrot dangling. Think about the carrot, the favor.
- [11:18]
A
I didn't even think about the carrot. I don't even know what it is at this point.
- [11:20]
B
I mean, I've forgotten about it until all of a sudden I see Paul Heyman and CM Punk in the ring together.
- [11:26]
A
I mean, if. If Wiseman is stuck between a rock and a hard place, no pun intended. I'm not talking about the final boss this time. And CM Punk's favor has anything to. I don't even want to speculate. This isn't the place for wild speculation.
- [11:39]
B
But Heyman looks emotional.
- [11:42]
A
Of course he's emotional. Because you remember that sit down between CM Punk and Roman Reigns, when CM Punk said to Roman Reigns, he was my wise man before he was yours. And Roman Reigns knows that that's true now. That doesn't mean that the love there is stronger, but there's always something. You don't want your man's ex coming around being like, by the way, he loved me before he loved you. It's like, hey, why don't you shut your mouth about that? Because we don't even talk about old stuff anymore, in case you didn't know. But when he sees the consolation, the not consolation, but when he sees these two together. And Paul has real concern and real care. Look at Roman's face for CM Punk. Roman doesn't like it, not one bit. And Roman walks in and I don't know. I would love to hear this from Roman Reigns because my mind is going nuts, obviously. But I'm sitting there looking at it and I'm going, is Roman Reigns punishing CM Punk because he simply walked in? Paul Heyman knew to back away. And he takes out CM Punk. Is he punishing CM Punk or is he sending Paul Heyman a message? Was that beat down for Punk or was that beat down for Heyman to let Heyman know. I don't care who the first Paul Heyman guy was. I don't care what was going on before me. The tribal chief is back. Because I haven't seen that tribal chief because people want to say it all the time about this Roman Reigns, that he's soft now or that it's the act is stale or the third inning, it's more like the 13th. And they want to say all kinds of stuff, right? But tonight, the Madison Square Garden Roman Reigns that we saw, I haven't seen that Roman Reigns since the build up to his. Remember the build up to his Logan Paul match, where he's right in the camera, he said, that's my camera. The. This is My building. That's my ring. Yeah, that's what he did. Tonight on Raw. This is my steel cage. This is the world's most famous arena. And tonight it belongs to me. I set all this up for you. This is my sandpit that you're playing in. And never get confused about it.
- [13:47]
B
My gut reaction tells me that what Roman did to CM Punk today was a message to Paul Heyman.
- [13:54]
A
Me, too.
- [13:55]
B
It's just how I feel.
- [13:56]
A
Because now and Roman Reigns at the point now where Paul, you could get it, too.
- [14:00]
B
Yeah. I mean, there was a moment there where I said he might spear Paul Heyman.
- [14:06]
A
Because here's the difference. Here's the difference with Roman Reigns than with anybody else that Paul Heyman has ever been with. The other people that Paul Heyman are with are Paul Heyman. Guys. Paul Heyman is a Roman Reigns guy, not the other way around.
- [14:21]
B
Correct.
- [14:22]
A
And at a point, I think Roman Reigns realized, okay, there was a period of time where it was like, you know what? I gotta lick my wounds. Gotta get my family got back together. Gotta get the bloodline back together. I'm coming from a deficit. But now I think Roman Reigns is done apologizing. I think Roman Reigns is done with the. Well, you know, you got this guy upset. You got that guy upset. Your family doesn't. We put all the pieces back together. We had a successful war games. Everything went fine. Now no more games, no more apologies, no more making sure everybody's fine. The tribal chief is back. And the tribal chief is back to get what's his, which is everything.
- [15:09]
B
Paul Heyman. You saw what Seth Rollins did to me at Royal Rumble. Look what I did to him. Tonight at Madison Square Garden, you're going to talk to your former Paul Heyman guy. CM Punk, I'm going to. I'm going to send you a message as well. And he definitely did.
- [15:27]
A
I could talk now.
- [15:28]
B
I don't think everything's hunky dory between CM Punk and Roman Reigns just to set the record straight. But I do think tonight was about sending a message to Paul Heyman.
- [15:38]
A
I can talk about this the entire show. I do not want to. We've got so much more to cover. So let me catch my breath. Let's talk about some wonderful stuff from fanatics. We'll be right back. We'll talk about the cage match, talk about Cody Rhodes. We're gonna have AJ Styles on the show. This is a big one.
- [15:54]
B
You know, Sam, the more time I spend in this studio here, your chotchkis are really growing on me.
- [15:59]
A
Are they? First of all, they're collectibles. Just so we all know, they're very valuable, precious collectibles. But I'm glad that they're growing on you because they're about to grow even more. Yeah. Yeah. Have you heard about Funko Fridays?
- [16:13]
B
Of course. I practice every Friday.
- [16:15]
A
Every Friday?
- [16:16]
B
Yes.
- [16:17]
A
Funko Fridays. Every Friday in March, a new Funko is dropping on WWE Shop exclusively. Thanks to fanatics and WWE and Megan. I got the first one.
- [16:30]
B
First one.
- [16:30]
A
The first Funko pop for Funko Friday is the bronze statue edition of Roman Reigns. You know, it's inspired by the bronze statue that appears virtually when Roman Reigns has made so many of his entrances. We got it.
- [16:49]
B
This is quite the way to start Funko Fridays.
- [16:52]
A
Wait till you see this. Wait till you see this. Ok. You talk about you'll never say the word chachki again after this. This is why we call them premium. Oh, collectibles. We put the one up for our tribal chief and now we do it while he's standing in bronze. Look at this guy. Look at our tribal chief in all of his glory.
- [17:15]
B
Megan, greatness on a different level.
- [17:18]
A
Have you ever seen anything like it?
- [17:20]
B
Not once. I think. I think I might keep this one.
- [17:23]
A
Well, maybe I was considering giving it to you for the baby, but then I realized it's got to stay in Nazam Studio. The people need to see it. I'm not giving it to you for the baby. I'm not going to do it. It's too. It's too much.
- [17:34]
B
My child will be devastated.
- [17:35]
A
I know. But they probably won't find out for a little while. So hopefully you keep them away from the podcast. And maybe if you really need one for baby, you go to WWE Shop because it's Funko Fridays all March long and you can get it thanks to fanatics in wwe.
- [17:52]
B
And if we're starting with Roman Reigns. Woo. A month is going to get hot.
- [17:55]
A
It's going to be a big march. Welcome back. It's Raw recap. And I. We got to talk about everything that Cody Rhodes said in Madison Square Garden before we did. I promised we would talk about the cage match. That everything happened before the tribal chief returned.
- [18:11]
B
This is why the people came to Madison Square Garden tonight.
- [18:14]
A
That's why Andrew Schultz was there. CM Punk versus Seth Rollins inside a steel cage. Absolutely brilliant match. Two guys that wanted to tear each other apart. Two guys that had multiple opportunities to leave the cage, but they did not want to because they wanted to leave their opponent dead.
- [18:34]
B
Yeah. And it was, you know, Seth kept tempting CM Punk, and CM Punk did.
- [18:38]
A
To Seth as well.
- [18:39]
B
Yeah. And Seth was big on, you know, earn it. Earn it. You have to earn it. You know, he kept.
- [18:45]
A
He said, if you want to take my house, you got to earn it.
- [18:47]
B
Yes. He kept. He kept poking the bear.
- [18:49]
A
I almost. I almost wanted to say, by the way, it's Roman Rain's house, but I can't wait. Can't get back into the tribal, Chief. It'll take.
- [18:54]
B
The amount of near falls that this match had was.
- [18:58]
A
And not even, like, believable typical near falls. I mean, like, Punk breaking out the. The gts and then. And then Seth hitting his own gts and. And. And. And Seth locking on the stf, which, of course, hearkens back to the elimination chamber. Punk turning it in to the Anaconda Vice with Punk stomping Seth and Seth stomping Punk.
- [19:23]
B
There were multiple times hitting a gts.
- [19:25]
A
Yeah.
- [19:26]
B
I mean, but I have to say, my favorite part of the entire match had to be when both of them were on top of the elimination chamber. And, you know, now that we have Raw on the cage. Yes, gosh, I know.
- [19:37]
A
I know.
- [19:38]
B
It's been so much. Both of them are on top of the steel cage. And, you know, now that we're in this Raw on Netflix era, we get all of these amazing drone shots, and we get to see this drone shot of Punk and Rollins. I. I don't know if we've ever seen that before. Live in action, captured up there. Yes. And they're hanging on for life. And here's CM Punk, who is no spring chicken, and Seth freaking Rollins, who has had a history of back issues, and both of them coming down off the cage.
- [20:13]
A
It was a superplex. When you're draped over the top of a steel cage is nuts for anyone.
- [20:23]
B
Yes.
- [20:23]
A
But you're right to, like, CM Punk doesn't have to do that. No, he doesn't. Ha. He doesn't have to do that on this Monday night Raw or any Monday night Raw or any ple. He doesn't have to be.
- [20:37]
B
He doesn't have to do that ever again.
- [20:38]
A
No, but he's doing it because he's fighting for this thing. And it was interesting, too, because they were both looking at the WrestleMania sign, but there were no WrestleMania implications in this match.
- [20:49]
B
And that's why I kept saying, one of you should just walk out and take the dub. Right.
- [20:53]
A
But they didn't want to take the dub. The reason Seth, I think, kept looking at that WrestleMania sign was because he said my only Reason for being right now is to make sure that you are too hurt to do anything at WrestleMania. I think that he was looking at the WrestleMania sign.
- [21:06]
B
He was like, look, I already got roman out of WrestleMania, now I gotta get Punk out of WrestleMania.
- [21:11]
A
So he thought, yeah, he took the slammy for the most wrong person of the year tonight. But yeah, he. I. Interesting that everybody who's ever looked at that WrestleMania sign has always looked at it with the intent of what I am going to be doing there. I think Seth Rollins might be the first person staring at that WrestleMania sign, envisioning somebody not being there. Because I think it's more important to Seth Rollins that Punk doesn't make it to WrestleMania than that. He does.
- [21:37]
B
Yeah, he's like the gatekeeper right now.
- [21:39]
A
Wild. Wild.
- [21:40]
C
The world is full of tours.
- [21:45]
A
But.
- [21:45]
C
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.
- [22:10]
A
Well, speaking of gatekeepers, at one time you could argue that John Cena was the gatekeeper of that top tier in the wwe. But now if you ask around, Cody Rhodes would tell you that it's him. I. I think especially the. The. The what? What Cody has been doing with that microphone coming off of the elimination. Oh, first Smackdown and then Madison Square Garden. Keep in mind, you talk about finishing the story, that picture of Dusty Rhodes holding the WWE Championship that he never actually got to win because it was a countout victory that was in Madison Square Garden. I mean, he, you know, because the story has been so long, I don't think we should take for granted that Cody Rhodes is walking in to WWE territory, to Madison Square Garden. That's WWE's building forever. Going back to the 60s 70s as the WWE champion, holding it in the air. And like you said, like he said on Friday night, that title, that don't look heavy to Cody Rhodes.
- [23:19]
C
Nope.
- [23:19]
A
It looks like he's having no problem lifting it. Lifting it up.
- [23:23]
B
What a shot.
- [23:25]
A
I mean, this is it. This is the story. I love when Cody, when he gets some dirt under his fingernails, I love.
- [23:31]
B
When he fired up. Cody Rhodes the best. And I feel like each and every week we've seen Cody Rhodes get more and more fired up. Right? It was like, you know, with Kevin Owens, we saw a different side of Cody and then, I mean, it's gone to a completely different level.
- [23:47]
A
That's what happens when one of the top stars in hip hop punches you in the eye, I'm assuming that's who gave him the black eye. I don't know for sure. There was a lot of beating going on.
- [23:56]
B
There's a lot of Internet chatter about that as well.
- [23:59]
A
Yeah, I want to say something about that, but it was interesting to me that Cody brought up the fact that John Cena is not here. He said, we're in Madison Square Garden. This is the epicenter, and John Cena is not here. And immediately I go back to WrestleMania 28, when John Cena was the champion, but somebody was coming in from a previous generation who thought he was a bigger star than John Cena. And John Cena was at every single Raw, and this other person was not. This other person showed up whenever he could show up. To the point.
- [24:42]
B
Are you talking about being a part timer?
- [24:44]
A
To the point. I would never say that. Never say those words. But to the point where this human being had a shirt that said I bring it, and John Cena made one that said via satellite. I'm talking about a young John Cena in a rivalry with the Rock. This is. This is the spirit, and it's a different scenario, but this is the spirit that I'm getting from Cody Rhodes and an older John Cena. Cody Rhodes has no interest in kissing the ring. Cody Rhodes has no interest in hearing a conversation about, you know, has he reached John Cena's status? Cody Rhodes made it very clear that he is the guy. What did he say? I'm the captain now.
- [25:32]
B
Look at me.
- [25:32]
A
Look. Look at me. Look at me.
- [25:34]
B
I am the captain. Yes, I do love how he brings up John Cena's tweet. Right. The tweet the morning after the elimination chamber where John Cena. I want to make sure that I. Yeah. Get it word for word that I get this. Correct.
- [25:49]
A
He called him a GD Moron, by the way. Yes, he said he was a GD moron.
- [25:56]
B
But he pulls up. Gosh, I'm scrolling through. He calls out his exact tweet, which, you know, with John Cena, he puts up inspirational tweets every morning. So you never really know if it's. It's like a fortune cookie type of tweet or if this is a tweet, that. That means something. This morning after the elimination chamber, it definitely meant something because John Cena put out. Have the discipline to do what needs to be done, especially when you don't feel like it. So Cody Rhodes calling out Cena for what he said after the elimination Chamber. And Cody Rhodes also saying, you know, 17 is what you're going for, but I'm going to have to be the one who stops my hero from making history.
- [26:46]
A
And he's gonna take pleasure in it. He's gonna take pleasure in it. And I'll tell you this, you know, it's really interesting because I remember when Cody Rhodes documentary came out, the Peacock documentary came out. I did a q and A with Cody at the premiere of that. And I asked Cody, you know, it was the first time I'd seen the doc. And you have all these legends in the doc talking about Cody. This is before he had won the WWE Championship, but you have Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker and Ric Flair and all of these legends. And Cody, as a, as a lifelong fan and student of the game, I remember specifically because I loved his answer so much. Asking him, you know, are you blown away? Are you floored that you have the greatest legends in the history of the business talking about how great you are? And he said, without ego, without hubris. He said that, yeah, he appreciates what a big deal that is, but also that's what they should be doing, that he is that person of today. He's the top guy today and the legend. It shouldn't be this, oh, my gosh, I'm so in awe of you. Sure, it should be. Those top guys are talking about this top guy. And I'm the one who's able to do it night in, night out today. And that's something that stuck with me and an awareness that I think Cody Rhodes has, that he has the ability, no matter what people say or do or anything, Cody has the ability to do something that other people can't day in, day out.
- [28:26]
B
Now, Cody has always come off just so respectful, and he's been the type of superstar, the type of person, the type of champion that sometimes has worn his heart on his sleeve.
- [28:40]
A
Absolutely.
- [28:41]
B
Now, we have seen Cody Rhodes completely change, and he's had to. Because when you're the champion, when you are the top guy in wwe. We've seen this, Sam.
- [28:52]
A
Yeah.
- [28:52]
B
You don't have friends.
- [28:53]
A
No. Because they're after what you've got.
- [28:55]
B
Exactly. Do you think any part of this is a little bit heartbreaking for Cody Rhodes?
- [29:02]
A
Well, I, I, in a way, I think it's a. The human perspective could be. Yeah, nobody wants that. But like I said.
- [29:13]
B
But he's not showing those emotions whatsoever. He has been so impressive and he's.
- [29:17]
A
A student of the game. I think that his whole point about it not Being too heavy for him is that that thing that you're talking about is something he can deal with and something he was ready to deal with. You know who else was a world champion? His father. He's seen it all, he's watched it all, and he asked for this more than anyone has ever asked for it. He made this happen. So I think that while you're right and that can be a heartbreaking thing to go through, I think that he was aware that it was probable and. And I think he's ready for it now to go back to the Internet hubbub and the black eye and everything.
- [29:54]
B
Yes.
- [29:54]
A
A lot of people have been saying a lot about Travis Scott. I know Bubba Ray Dudley's not a fan. I've seen, you know, I saw that. Yep.
- [30:04]
B
I saw Bubba's thoughts.
- [30:05]
A
A lot of people have been saying, you know, what was this guy doing in there? How dare somebody who's outside of the world. Right. Travis Scott has responded to everybody, and he's done it in the most Travis Scott way via a T shirt. And I am so excited about it. I mean, you know, I love the Travis Scott Cactus Jack collabs in general. And, you know, this about me. So the idea that this has come to WWE is so fun for me. But, yes, the answer to everybody's question is wrestling is real. And Travis Scott has put it on a Cactus Jack T shirt. I don't know if you guys seen it, but he put out a shirt that says wrestling is real. It's got the old school scratch WWE logo. It's got that iconic photo on the back of Cena of Travis Scott and of the final boss.
- [30:59]
B
You're going to make a bold statement to get the people talking. You better drop merch with it.
- [31:04]
A
It's the boldest statement. And to me, it's one of those pieces of merch that symbolize just a major, major event. So go look at WWE Shop and look at the. Look at the Cactus Jack, Travis Scott, WWE collab. Cactus Jack. Not Mick Foley. Travis Scott, Cactus Jack. Just so everybody's well aware.
- [31:22]
B
Also, not Chelsea Green.
- [31:24]
A
Not Chelsea Green. That's Chick Foley. That's so. But speaking of. Of. Of women that don't mind putting a beating down on people, we saw in the ring. Iyo sky, the new champion. Yes. The women's World champion. And I'm glad you brought that up, because that's, to me, what this is all about. Iyo sky has interview time on television. Iyo sky has interview time with Michael Cole. And by the way, IYO because she.
- [31:54]
B
Earned the interview time.
- [31:56]
A
And how'd she earn it?
- [31:57]
B
She defeated Rhea Ripley to win the Women's World Championship.
- [32:00]
A
We talked to you about it last week on Raw. Recap. It was an amazing moment.
- [32:04]
B
Back was against the wall. Rio had no path to WrestleMania. She had one way, and it was to defeat the Eradicator. And she did it. So give the woman her flowers. She gets her interview with Michael Cole.
- [32:17]
A
I mean, what's it going to take for you to finally get some flowers, right? So she's got this interview with Michael Cole, and all of a sudden, here comes Bianca Belair, and it's like, okay, Bianca's got the WrestleMania match. She won the elimination chamber. You know, I believe we saw a graphic. Bianca Eos guy. Women's World Championship, WrestleMania 41, Las Vegas, Nevada. So they're hashing it out. Boom. This is my brutality. Here comes Rhea Ripley. And of course, Madison Square Garden is losing their mind for it. You know, this is mommy in front of everybody, but mommy is not looking happy.
- [32:53]
B
She told them to cut the music, Right?
- [32:55]
A
And we were all enjoying it. Rhea Ripley gets in the ring, and she gets right in the face of Bianca Belair. What were you doing out there? What were you doing out there? Now, look, I'm a Rhea Ripley fan, sometimes a Stan. Mainly a fan. Bianca Belair being at ringside for this women's World Championship match on the road to WrestleMania with Bianca being the one who's getting the shot at WrestleMania, is not strange.
- [33:26]
B
No.
- [33:26]
A
This is something we've seen many times.
- [33:28]
B
Before, scouting the competition. And Bianca wasn't there being that much of a distraction.
- [33:34]
A
I don't think so. And I saw people trying to go like, oh, clapping for this one. She was applauding both women. That's what I saw in the match. Okay.
- [33:42]
B
Like, she respects both opponents, and I believe she's made that clear.
- [33:46]
A
Wow. I don't know. Right now. I think before Raw, you might have been right. Yes, but. So Ria's out there and she's arguing with Bianca Belair. Right. Ria brings up. Ria says that Bianca's the one that cost her. Now, this is odd to me because, again, this is easy for me to say. I'm. You know, I got the. I got the distance. I'm a Tuesday morning quarterback. I think Rhea Ripley maybe should have done a little bit more arguing with the mirror and less arguing with Bianca Belair. However she chose Bianca Belair, it's tough to look internally sometimes, and she's saying that it. Not only is it Bianca's fault. But then she gets dirty. She brings up, you know, Bianca's personal business with Naomi and Jay Cargill, which.
- [34:37]
B
We know has been stressing out Bianca Belair.
- [34:39]
A
Wouldn't it stress you had. There were tears on smackdown. Tears.
- [34:42]
B
It was emotional.
- [34:43]
A
So EO is like, hey, enough. Like, champion over here. Hello. She tries to get between them. Ria shoves IO Whoa, whoa. I'm the champion now? Bianca starts going back at Rhea Ripley. And I'm sitting there going, bianca, what are you going back at Rhea Ripley for? Like, if somebody comes out and yells at you, I understand. Nobody likes to be yelled at. But, like, to me, I would think I go, hey, this doesn't concern you. You can be mad all you want. She's going to be champion. I'm going to be number one contender. You're going to be mad. Now that we figured out where we're all at, can we just go about our business?
- [35:25]
B
Rhea going at Bianca isn't going to do anything to help Rhea get the title back.
- [35:31]
A
But neither is Bianca going after Ria.
- [35:32]
B
Correct.
- [35:33]
A
Because then Bianca. But she took that personally. She's like Michael Jordan looking at an iPad. She took it personally. Okay. And she starts going after Rhea Ripley. Then IO says, enough. And Bianca face palmed EO Sky. You see her face, Palmer?
- [35:47]
B
I did face palming the champion. And that little fire.
- [35:52]
A
Come on. Could you imagine? You win a champ that. That. You win Rhea Ripley's championship. You're getting facepalmed a week later. Get the you know what? Out of here. Okay.
- [36:01]
B
And IYO had to send a message to both Ria and Bianca.
- [36:05]
A
Oh. She slapped a taste out of Rhea Ripley. And then she slapped Bianca twice as hard. Just to let everybody know, in case you didn't know, there's a belt around my waist.
- [36:14]
B
That's right.
- [36:15]
A
And inscribed in it, it says, this is my division. And the fans are going nuts for iyo Sky. I think in all that, the arguing between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair is doing is reminding everybody how awesome EO is.
- [36:30]
B
Yeah. And EO has to feel like, why are either of you overlooking me?
- [36:37]
A
Yeah. Hello.
- [36:38]
B
Bianca, you better focus because we have a match at WrestleMania 41.
- [36:42]
A
Yeah.
- [36:43]
B
Rhea, you couldn't get past me last week.
- [36:45]
A
Right? Right. What are we doing? I mean, what. What do we. And I. Yeah. So I. I hope that some semblance of rationality has kicked in with Bianca and with Rhea Ripley. I don't know what Rhea Ripley's plan is.
- [37:00]
B
And now I know that these are different types of superstars. Right. You look at Bian and Rhea, and the size and the athleticism is different than what you have in IO not to say it's better. You see what Iyo does off the top rope. You see what kind of magic that Iyo sky can make in a ring.
- [37:20]
A
You see what Iyo does when she's mad and just wants to use her hand to swing at people.
- [37:24]
B
Now, both of those women might be taller than IO.
- [37:27]
A
Big deal.
- [37:28]
B
So what?
- [37:29]
A
So what? I'm not the tallest guy. So what? Who cares? Who's counting? Who's measuring? You know what I mean?
- [37:35]
B
Who has the title?
- [37:36]
A
Exactly.
- [37:37]
B
It's eo.
- [37:38]
A
Exactly. And you don't win it by mistake. No, I mean, I know that to me, it's like, I'm sure Ria would like to be factored into the WrestleMania match, but I don't see what the path is. And I certainly don't think it's interrupting promos, but maybe I'm wrong. I never. I've never gotten a WrestleMania match. So what do I know? I do want to know. Like, I. It's cute and all. Oh, I just wasn't. Yeah, Yeah. I just wasn't. I'm not like a matchy matchy with.
- [38:07]
B
Our new show that we should be matching.
- [38:08]
A
No, I mean, it's cute. It's super cute. But also, like, we're not.
- [38:13]
B
I texted you and I said, please wear your Austin316 shirt tonight. And I was like, recap show.
- [38:17]
A
I was like, yeah, I mean, I was. I mean, look, there's probably a at least 5 in 10 shot that I was going to wear my Austin316 shirt anyway. But why is it. Was it so important to wear?
- [38:27]
B
Well, because this weekend is Austin 316 day. It's March 16th.
- [38:32]
A
Let me check my calendar right here. Yes.
- [38:35]
B
Yes.
- [38:36]
A
It's the last. This would be the last raw recap before 3:16.
- [38:42]
B
I'm putting down. So I wanted us to wear the shirts to remind everybody that this weekend is Austin 316 day and to celebrate.
- [38:52]
A
Is that why you brought the tiki?
- [38:53]
B
I did. I brought my geeky tiki of stone cold Steve Austin. And I brought you for your coffee tomorrow on your morning commute.
- [39:01]
A
I noticed that it's a stone Cold shaker. I didn't know why it was here. You brought this?
- [39:05]
B
Yes, I brought that for you. I mean, look, I'm not just celebrating on 3 16. I am celebrating all week because there are so many amazing Stone cold Steve Austin merchandise.
- [39:15]
A
Yeah, I mean, look, I would get to WWE shop right now. You know, obviously fanatics in WWE have figured out how to, how to properly celebrate 316 day. So I would deck out your whole place with Austin stuff. Because once three. Because this is one of those days that sneaks up on you. Once three 16 hits. You know, you're going to be checking on my Instagram. I'm going to post that picture of me hanging out on 316 Gimmick street like, and you're going to wish you had all kinds of stone cold stuff. There is so much of it on WWE Shop thanks to WWE and fanatics. So go check that out. I also want to give a. What's a negative version of a shout out? I have a grievance. I have a grievance. I have a grievance. Yeah, we need to do something about security at Madison Square Garden. Fans just jumping in and Lucha masks.
- [40:09]
B
Or maybe, I mean, I don't know. Kathy Kelly was convinced that it was Chad Gable, but maybe it wasn't Chad.
- [40:16]
A
Gable because maybe I saw him in the same room together.
- [40:19]
B
Well, we did see backstage there was another man being escorted out of Madison's.
- [40:24]
A
What do you mean another man? It was this guy. It was. The guy is the guy in the American made mask.
- [40:27]
B
I mean, there was a lot of claims that this is Gable.
- [40:30]
A
It's clearly not. We saw him.
- [40:32]
B
Gracias.
- [40:33]
A
Yeah. Gable doesn't speak Spanish.
- [40:35]
B
No, definitely not.
- [40:36]
A
He says thank you. I don't even know what gracias means. I don't know what.
- [40:39]
B
But he is valedictorian, so I'm sure. Maybe he's bilingual.
- [40:43]
A
They were in the same room at the same time. I mean, I know Kathy Kelly's got this legendary iq, but it doesn't take a legendary IQ to know if he's over there and Chad Gable's over there. It ain't Chad Gable.
- [40:53]
B
Yeah.
- [40:54]
A
You know, so I'm glad to see Chad Gable back.
- [40:57]
B
I, I, I wonder how his quest went. Chad Gable wonder what was in the box.
- [41:02]
A
Oh, that's right. I forgot about the box. Well, it wasn't that mask. That's no, because somebody else was wearing it. But hopefully Chad Gable teaches security how to keep the ringside area completely clear.
- [41:14]
B
You know, you would think that the world's most famous arena would step it up.
- [41:17]
A
I would think so. But look, again, that's just me. I do also want to say, okay, so I'm watching Jey USO and Gunther this week. Okay. And I love this saga because I love how watching Jey USO and Gunther because this is the match that I feel like has had the most time. This is a slow cooking match. Okay? And the idea that Jay and Gunther both know that they're looking at each other from basically the night after the Royal Rumble. It was a week after the Royal Rumble, I think that Jay finally said Gunther. But as of the night after the Royal Rumble, Gunther was on the hunt. And he said, I'm going to make your life a living hell. And both of these men have already gone through a change because of this match. We saw this beast awakened in Jey uso and we saw him take out, not only beat Grayson Waller, he took out Austin theory as well before he got choked out by Gunter. But I think last week, to me it was like, okay, there's a beast in Jay uso. This week I've come to a conclusion. Jay USO has gotten to Gunther. Oh, he is in Gunther's kitchen. I mean, if Gunther is doing any associating at all with a town down under, this is so not Gunther's speed.
- [42:35]
B
There are very few people that can stir the pot quite like a town down under. So if Gunther had to stoop down to this level to.
- [42:44]
A
I mean, I mean, it's everything. It's everything Gunther was complaining about with Jey uso.
- [42:50]
B
I mean, Grayson Waller has an effect as we talked about last week. I mean, this is a guy who has his own.
- [42:57]
A
But let me go a step further. I think Jey uso has gotten to Gunther. I don't know if that's good news for Jey uso. That's what we're forgetting. Yeah, that Gunther being driven to the point of doing things that he normally would not do. Now granted, Gunther doing the things that he normally does ends up in victories. However, Gunther being driven to do things that he normally would not do could mean an even more brutal than usual WrestleMania.
- [43:24]
B
Because what level will he stoop to?
- [43:26]
A
I mean, that's what I'm saying. The Jay USO better come. I mean, he better have. He better get his beast Mode up like 3, 4, 5, 6 degrees. Because otherwise, I mean, he was feeling good on Monday night Raw and he got put directly to sleep. Now look, Jay USO is one of the most popular superstars in all of the WWE. And you were telling me that WrestleMania is not the end all be all for Jay Uso. Because you were showing me on Instagram that they started announcing the. The Fanatics Fest.
- [44:03]
B
Yes, they did. And Jay USO is one of them right now.
- [44:07]
A
You know, I love Fanatics Fest. I was at Fanatics Fest last year doing not Sam wrestling shows. I interviewed Paul Heyman, I interviewed Drew, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio. And we did it. Live shows, everybody could watch. It was like really, really awesome. So I personally hope to be back there, but already we know that the Undertaker's gonna be there.
- [44:25]
B
It's just huge.
- [44:25]
A
Which, like, just like getting a meet and greet with the Undertaker. But the idea that, who knows, maybe he'll do a podcast. Who knows what he'll be doing there? The Undertaker will be there. Like you said, Jay uso. But we also know Liv Morgan's gonna be at Fanatics Fest.
- [44:37]
B
Rhea Ripley's gonna be a Fanatics Fest.
- [44:40]
A
And how about Cody Rhodes? Cody Rhodes, the WWE Champion, Will he still be WWE Champion? I don't know because this thing is June 20th through the 22nd. It's in New York City once again at the Jacob Javits Center. Exclusive photo ops, autograph sessions, everything. So stay tuned. We'll, we'll, I'm sure here make all kinds of announcements about who's going to be at Fanatics already.
- [45:02]
B
What a lineup.
- [45:02]
A
I mean, Cody, Ria, Jay, uso, Live, Morgan, the Undertaker.
- [45:06]
B
Yeah, get, I mean clear.
- [45:09]
A
Clear your June 20th through the 22nd and just be there. That's what I'm talking about.
- [45:14]
B
You're gonna need a day to recover. So clear the 23rd too.
- [45:17]
A
That's right. Are you coming with me this year?
- [45:18]
B
I hope so. Yeah.
- [45:19]
A
That's what I'm talking about. Now we got somebody to join Raw recap. Somebody who had a big Monday night. Raw, the phenomenal one, A.J. styles. And now joining us from backstage at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, the phenomenal one, AJ Styles. Aj, we just watched you. You seem to desperately want to hurt Logan Paul. What is it about Logan Paul that you feel deserves a beating?
- [45:55]
C
Well, I feel like I'm. It's being the rest of the country wanting to hurt Logan Paul. So I'm just trying to do everyone a favor and get it done as quick as possible. Get him out of our ranks.
- [46:06]
A
You. You say? I was going to say, you say get him out of your ring. That's what I was, I was curious about. Right. Because the conversation is that we all have had is that Logan Paul is good at this. He's better at this than we thought he would be. He's good at getting a reaction from the audience. He's good at moves, he's good at matches. But does he respect wrestling, do you think? Logan Paul respects pro wrestling?
- [46:31]
C
It's like giving your kids everything they want before, you know, they even work for anything. They're spoiled. Right. And I would say it's kind of the same thing with Logan Paul. He thinks he can just come to a WW ring, not a independent wrestling ring like the rest of us had, or maybe at least the. The PC to train a little bit. He has done none of that and thinks he belongs in our ring. We've paid our dues. We've done what we've had to do to get to where we're at. Logan Paul has it, so we're going to find out how bad he wants it. I'm going to stay on him. I'm going to stay on him until either he's going to fight back and do something about it, or he's going to leave.
- [47:06]
B
Now, aj, he hasn't paid his dues, there's no question about it. But he is really good at this. Do you respect Logan Paul?
- [47:16]
C
He's an athlete. He's an athlete. There's no doubt about it. The guy is an athlete. But there are tons of athletes out there that don't belong in our ring. We, like I said, had to pay our dues. We had to sacrifice something to get in that rink. Whether it's time, whether it's pain or both or all of it, we have to sacrifice so much. And then there's a guy that thinks he can just walk into our ring and do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants. Claims he's this biggest star, you know, I mean, yeah, he's got a lot of followers. Maybe Triple H is happy about that, you know, great. But he's going to have to earn his spot on the WWE roster.
- [47:57]
B
You talk about someone who's a star. Andrew Scholz at the world's most famous Arena Tonight, and he said that he came to see wrestlers like AJ Styles. When you hear him say that, how does that make you feel?
- [48:13]
C
Freaking Andrew's awesome, you know, dude's hilarious. And the fact that he come out here to support the WWE is, you know, music to my ears. This is what we do. This is why we do it. You know, celebrities coming and supporting their. Their wrestling, wwe. That's what it's all about.
- [48:30]
A
Yeah. And I guess that's the difference, right? The difference is that Schultz shows up and he's like, wanting to showcase WWE and what WWE does, where it seems like Logan Paul comes in and kind of wants to. Wants to take from instead of give to. Does that. Does that make sense?
- [48:50]
C
He hasn't given anything right that's, that is the problem. Right? You got to give something to get something, and he hasn't given anything. I, I can respect the fact that he wants to do something like this because we all want to do it, but we had to do it the right way. We had to do it the hard way. And I feel like the red carpet was rolled out for Logan and it is what it is. And if we're being honest, why is he here? Because he's made a star with his, you know, podcasts and, you know, all the things, other things that he's been. I mean, the guys. Listen, I'm not saying he's not a smart kid. He figured out long before the rest of us did how to make a lot of money and how to do it fast at a young age. I respect that. But I don't have to respect him being in my ring.
- [49:35]
A
I think that's what it comes down to, right, is. Is where he is and him being in your ring, that ring that you, like you said, had to work so hard to get to. I mean, you were working for years and years and years in pro wrestling before you got to a WWE ring. And even while you've been here, injuries will take you out. You just got back from an injury. At what point did you realize this was something that you needed to do? At what point are you sitting at home with your last injury, watching Logan Paul and thinking, the minute I get back, I'm going to make sure he realizes whose ring this is? Was this something that happened more recently? Is this something that's been building longer?
- [50:18]
C
I didn't start this. Logan did. I'm just going to finish it. You know, we're going to find out how bad he wants it. If he wants to be in a WWE ring, how bad do you want to be in it? It's not easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it. So let's just take him to a point where he might break and if he doesn't, well, maybe he belongs, and I'll respect that. I don't have to like him, but I can respect it.
- [50:42]
A
But you're gonna have to bring him to that breaking point. That's very old school mentality. What do you think? What do you think that is? What do you, what point do you think that is? What are you gonna have to do to Logan Paul to know in yourself? I brought him to this breaking point. I brought him to a point that would break other people.
- [51:02]
C
Well, I have. I've broken others. Yeah, I beat others. Maybe it's a match. Maybe that's what this needs to be. And so, yeah, let's have a match. I don't care where it is. Let's do it. Let's see what you got. Let's see how bad you want it. How much punishment are you willing to take? How, what injuries are you willing to come back from? Let's find out.
- [51:25]
A
Did you know Andrew Schultz was a fan of yours?
- [51:30]
C
No. No clue. No clue.
- [51:32]
B
That's pretty, man.
- [51:33]
C
Which was. Which is awesome, right? Because he's so funny.
- [51:36]
A
Yeah.
- [51:37]
C
Such a great dude.
- [51:39]
A
Well, I mean, aj, it's good to catch you in a good mood. It's good to catch you in a jovial space, but I, I think that that's. That's. You're a pretty laid back dude most of the time, and I think that sometimes that can give people the wrong impression and that sometimes people forget how much you've done and how much you're capable of. Do you think that Logan Paul is fully aware of the person, as somebody who hasn't maybe studied wrestling as much as the rest of us, do you think Logan Paul is fully aware of the person that he's pissed off?
- [52:18]
C
I don't think anyone is aware of what happens in a ring. It sets me off. It's. It's one of those things when I step through the ropes, it's a different human being altogether. And, you know, a lot of things can get to me. I can't imagine too many things getting to me these days with what someone says about me. I've heard it all, so. But being in the ring that maybe they don't belong in, I don't know, it just takes me to a different place. And I like it when we step through the ring, stepped into that ring, through those ropes, like I want to. I want to go to another place. This is, this is where I live. This is where I've spent most of my career. This is what I've dedicated my life to. So I like that space and I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can.
- [53:04]
B
Aj, you spent so much time in the ring and it's been such a journey for you. You've been humbled many times in there. Do you think Logan Paul is capable of being humbled?
- [53:19]
A
Oh, I thought you're going to go in a different direction.
- [53:21]
C
Okay, everyone, hold on. Everyone's capable of being humbled. Everyone. There's not a guy that's ever stepped foot in a WW ring that hasn't been humbled. You're going to get humbled. No matter. I don't care what kind of athlete you are. I don't care who you are, you're going to get humbled. Someone's always going to be working harder. Somebody's always going to do more, always going to want it more than you. You will get humbled. I don't care who you are.
- [53:48]
B
I don't know if Logan thinks he's going to get humbled.
- [53:50]
A
I was going to say on that note, aj, as a wrestling fan, I want to see you beat up Logan Paul. I think a lot of people want to see you beat up Logan Paul, but ultimately, what happens if there is a match and what happens if Logan Paul beats you? What happens if Logan Paul doesn't get humbled? What happens if he's able to beat the phenomenal one?
- [54:20]
C
Well, I can't imagine something like that. It's going to happen. But if he does, then he maybe deserves to be here. Maybe he's done something to prove that he deserves to be in the ww. Listen, Logan Paul, we can say, well, and we can make excuses of why he beat other guys because he has. One of the greatest luchadors in the history of professional wrestling got beat by Logan Paul. You know, anyone can lose. It's not the first time I've lost to someone that people didn't think could beat me. I'm not saying I'm going to lose Logan Paul. I don't plan on losing at anything. I do. But at any given point, you can get beat. Anybody can get beat. But if Logan Paul is going to beat AJ Styles, he's going to have to go through hell.
- [55:09]
A
And I believe that, too. Especially how jacked you are right now. That's what's amazing to me is aj, at this point in your career, you've decided to just get as beefed up as anybody that I've ever seen. Was that. I mean, at what point did you consciously decide, I'm just going to remind these people how jacked I am capable of being.
- [55:30]
C
You know, when I broke my foot and was injured for a couple months, I decided that I had to change something. I had to do something. I had to take care of my body. I had to do whatever it takes to get to, you know, a level where I felt healthy. And that's what started it. You know, I. I talk to people all the time about these cold plunges and whatnot and how it's changed my life, but it's one of those things where you cannot. It's not just that it's eating healthy. You know, everybody thinks that I beefed up to 200 and whatever pounds. I'm still the same weight, which sounds crazy. I've just slimmed down the places I needed to. So say what you want. You know, I believe in the cold plunge. I believe in the sauna. I believe in eating healthy. If you can do all that and you can take all the shortcuts that you can, that will get you to the next level, meaning that there are biohacks that you can do to get you there. You know, it's like, if you cold. I'm gonna make me harp on this. I cold plunge before I work out, and I burn more calories if I do that. So that's why I cold plunge, because my body's trying to get the whole time. So I'm trying to find these little biohacks like that and do all those. If I hear about something, I'll try it. I fast all the time. I fasted before I got here. You know, I do all these things to try to, you know, get whatever my body working, working better. If there's a chance that it happens, if it happens 1%, then that's more than what I had. So I'll try it.
- [57:04]
A
That's amazing. Well, aj, I'm looking at the size of your shoulders. I'm looking at the size of your arms. It does. I'm looking at the size of your neck. It doesn't look to me like you're the same, but, look, you figured it out, man. You figured out something. Look at that. Look at the biceps and triceps on this guy. And you still got that head of hair.
- [57:21]
B
Is there.
- [57:22]
A
I don't understand any of it.
- [57:23]
B
I mean, between AJ Coming back looking better than ever and Randy coming back yoked as well. I mean, there's got to be some sort of group chat where you guys are like, oh, I'm gonna.
- [57:31]
A
Did you all sell your souls to the rock? You got. Did you guys all sell your souls? Is that how you did it?
- [57:37]
C
No, did not. Did not. My soul does not belong to him. I promise you that. I don't think it's mine to sell.
- [57:42]
B
So his soul belongs to the cold plunge.
- [57:44]
C
Not. Not happening.
- [57:45]
A
Yeah. I love it. Well, aj, thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us, man. And I, I, I, I, I. I think that the. The run that you're on and about to. To define is. Is so cool as a fan for me to see, and I. I really want to see this Logan Paul match. I really really want to see this Logan Paul match.
- [58:08]
C
Me too.
- [58:10]
A
Thank you, man.
- [58:14]
C
All right, guys. Appreciate it.
- [58:15]
A
Thank you, dude.
- [58:16]
B
See ya. See, this is what I've been telling you. Cold plunging. I know. I mean, listen, for New Year's, your New Year's resolution, which we know you're a big resolution guy.
- [58:25]
A
Love a resolution.
- [58:26]
B
Your resolution this year was more screen time and less cold plunging.
- [58:31]
A
No, it's temperate baths.
- [58:33]
B
Oh, temperate baths. So you're going to avoid cold. I think you saw aj.
- [58:38]
A
You think I'm a yolk like aj. If I start doing cold plunges, he swears by it. Look, I believe aj and I would take any advice that he had, but I get out of a cold plunge, it still looks like I got out of the drive.
- [58:49]
B
Maybe you're not doing enough of them. He does a pre and post workout.
- [58:53]
A
I can't believe that he said he hasn't gained weight. I mean, it looks like he's put on 20 pounds of muscle. The guy is jacked.
- [59:00]
B
Maybe it's just the distribution.
- [59:02]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The proportions. I did think it was. I thought it was great tonight seeing Logan Paul get called out. I love that because Logan Paul's running around talking like he's a full time wrestler. He's going to devote his life to it. It's nonsense. So the idea that AJ Styles, of all people, who I think is one of those guys that just represents everything great about professional wrestling, the fact that he's the guy stepping up to Logan Paul, I love. And people go like, oh, you just don't like this celebrity. You don't like that celebrity. Talking about positive celebrity involvement, Andrew Schultz gets put on the spot, asked, what are you at Madison Square Garden to see there for the wrestlers, he's there for the wrestlers. He's there for the cage match, he's there for IO, he's there for AJ Styles. I loved it. Looking at Logan Paul saying, this is in Cleveland.
- [59:52]
B
Logan Paul didn't like that.
- [59:53]
A
No, he didn't. God, do I want to see AJ Styles beat Logan. I had to ask him.
- [59:57]
B
Great.
- [59:58]
A
I had to ask him, like, what happens if you don't? Because I thought that's where you were going. And then I fell in love with the controversy of the question.
- [60:03]
B
Well, I just think, yeah. I mean, there was a second there during the question. I was like, oh, am I saying the right thing is I'm going to get mad at me. I mean, look, AJ Styles has had an unbelievable career, but there have been times where he's been humbled in the ring.
- [60:16]
A
I know, I know. And also not trying to.
- [60:19]
B
Not trying to bring up anything bad.
- [60:20]
A
I know. Well, I know. And then I said the thing. Well, I got Seth mad at me last week. I was hoping to get it.
- [60:25]
B
I just don't know if there's any way that Logan Paul could possibly be humbled in any. I don't think so area of his life.
- [60:33]
A
Which is why I. I worry that.
- [60:35]
B
I mean, I watched the preview for his reality show. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, the ego.
- [60:41]
A
Turn it off for one second. We'll see. We'll see if we get the AJ Styles Logan Paul match. I really want to see it, though. I really want to see it. Speaking of stuff, I really want to see next week. Monday night Raw, Brussels. I. We may be able to hit you with an earlier than usual Raw recap because Raw will be earlier than usual in the United States, but not only do we have an intercontinental championship match thanks to Dirty Dominic Mysterio.
- [61:12]
B
You know, that's your guy.
- [61:15]
A
Got the hug from. From F to the B.
- [61:17]
B
That is your guy. But, you know, Sam, does. Does it bother you at all that he's not taking these opportunities for himself?
- [61:24]
A
He's hooking up his homie. All right, all right.
- [61:27]
B
Live wanted him to take it for himself.
- [61:29]
A
Well, you know what? Lives ride or die. And I appreciate that about Live, but he's hooking up his homie. You can't. You can't hate that. We've got that match. We got no holes barred. Penta versus Ludwig Kaiser.
- [61:40]
B
So awesome.
- [61:40]
A
Which is amazing.
- [61:41]
B
And then I cannot wait to see the Penta entrance.
- [61:44]
A
I'm just in Brussels.
- [61:45]
B
It gets better every time he does it.
- [61:48]
A
So good. And then finally, for the first time since the elimination chamber, under the same roof at the same time, Cody Rhodes and John Cena are going to be in the same building.
- [62:02]
B
And this is not the John Cena that we are used to.
- [62:05]
A
And this. But this is also not the Cody Rhodes that he's used to.
- [62:08]
B
No. I just cannot wait to see what John Cena looks like, what he acts like, what he talks like.
- [62:16]
A
I don't know. I don't know. But I want to see Cody prove that he is the captain now. I want to see it happen. I can't wait to see it happen. Thank you guys for hanging with us here on Raw Recap, brought to you by WWE and Fanatics. Don't forget to subscribe on all audio platforms. Spotify, Apple, wherever you get podcasts, watch it us on YouTube on the WWE's YouTube channel. If you're watching, comment like, subscribe. Ratings and reviews on the audio platforms. We'll see you next week.