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Ross
David. Yes. Have you ever noticed that the way we use our phones is ironic? Phones are for connection, but we look.
Tyrese Halliburton
At them more than we look at each other. That's ironic.
Ross
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.
Tyrese Halliburton
That's right.
Ross
A phone company wanting people to use their phones, less ironic. A phone company wanting people to use.
Tyrese Halliburton
Their phones, less ironic.
Ross
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 from the Indiana Pacers. Tyrese Halliburton is on the show. Is there a new member of the Judgment Day? The women's money in the bank ladder match is filling out and the world title scene is an absolute madhouse. Welcome to WWE RAW recap brought to you by fanatics.
Megan Moran
My, my, my.
Ross
It is championship season. Of course, as I just said a moment ago, Megan, before he and his Indiana Pacers go to the Eastern Conference finals, Tyrese Haliburton is going to be on Raw recap. But before we talk to Tyrese, we've got to talk about championships in the WWE and the fact that, like, there is so much chaos and crowdedness around the World Heavyweight Championship. Like, I don't really recall another time in recent memory when there has been a declared line for the world Heavyweight.
Sam
Title or Jay uso. Right.
Ross
Wow. Is what he asked for.
Sam
Earns his world Heavyweight title. And it's one of the most competitive title pictures that we've ever seen.
Ross
Yeah. But that's what you get for being the World Heavyweight Champion.
Sam
You know, timing is everything.
Megan Moran
Yeah.
Ross
And they said. And they said from the beginning of this, of this title being in existence that this was going to be the working man's championship. This was going to be the workhorse championship. This was the championship that you'd see get defended on. On every ple. That you'd see get defended on television. And Jey USO is the one that has to live up to it. So no. Poor Jay uso as far as I'm concerned. As far as I'm concerned. Sometimes we forget as fans, but these are monsters. Listen, they're all.
Sam
This isn't just. I know whenever you have a title, and especially the World Heavyweight title, everybody's coming after you. But this is not just anyone. This is Seth Rollins. This is Bron Breaker. This is Logan Paul. This is Gunter in ALL CAPS.
Ross
ALL CAPS, 50% of whom have held The World Heavyweight title. That's what the title is. These are all people who are hungry for that gold. I mean, when you are the top champion on Monday Night Raw, this is what's going to happen. And I think sometimes, like, as fans, you can get tied up in the moment of Jay winning.
Sam
Yeah, it was great.
Ross
Right, right.
Sam
Because I get tied up in it every time he makes an entrance.
Ross
Of course you do. Because it's the entrance.
Sam
Yeah, it's awesome.
Ross
And you forget there's, like, people who. The whole point of the show is that there's somebody waiting to just destroy your dream of J USO continuing to do this entrance with a World Heavyweight Title around his waist. You, You. You picture this, this moment of jay being at WrestleMania and making Gunther tap out as a culmination, when in reality, that's the beginning of the next thing. And the next thing is a chapter that it's being questioned. It's still. Which is kind of surprising to me, being questioned as to whether or not it's too big. So first, let's break down this line that we have right now. Okay. These are just declared. You've got Logan Paul on Saturday.
Sam
Correct.
Ross
You've got Gunther on June 9, which is. I don't know. It's a Monday. I don't know if it's two weeks, three weeks. Arithmetic's not my thing. But Gunther after Logan Paul for whoever the champion is.
Sam
Okay.
Ross
Seth Rollins after Gunther for whoever the champion is. And those are just the people that are stepping up. I'm telling you right now, there's no way Sami Zayn has said, I want to be the World Heavyweight Champion.
Sam
Oh, and what about CM Punk?
Ross
CM Punk has said, I want to be the World Heavyweight Champion.
Sam
They might not have a day yet.
Ross
Because it's not polite. Because they're friends with this, with this, Jay, it's strategy. That's right. Who knows? These are wrestlers we're talking about here. Okay? You can't trust them.
Sam
No.
Ross
So Ross starts, though, with Logan Paul hitting facts. Fact, fact, fact, fact. First, he says he will return next week on Monday Night RAW with the World Heavyweight Championship. Fact.
Sam
Well, he told us right here in the Raw recap that he's a full.
Ross
Timer, which surprised me. Cause I thought there's two things there. Number one, that you'll be World Heavyweight Champion. Number two, that you'll actually be on Raw next week. But apparently, fact. Logan has dropped two facts on us right there. That he's back. And he did say that. He did say that. Because I think that was a criticism that he was running around saying, I'm a full timer and people like me. And you were like, you're not. Like, we would know. And he said, book me. He said it on the pod. And I was like, okay.
Sam
I don't think he's missed the show since.
Ross
He's been around a lot.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
And I think that that's very showing. And it's also like, if you listen to Triple H in the press conference after backlash, one of the wrestling journalists, they said, how do you make the call on when to use celebrity talent like Pat McAfee, Logan Paul, bad Bunny? And Triple H said, let me stop you right there. Pat McAfee, Bad Bunny, where it makes sense, blah, blah, blah. But Logan Paul is not on that list anymore. Triple H said to us, logan Paul is on the roster list, not on the celebrity roster list. Which is no disrespect to anybody, but just a different categorization for Logan Paul than what was there before.
Sam
So you got to think about that as a guy who's vying for the World Heavyweight championship. Is he going to be around and what does that look like?
Ross
That's right. So then you have Logan Paul saying, and this is what struck me that Jay can't cut it as champion. Logan Paul still singing that song that I've heard before of J USO not being capable of holding the title. And it's still a song that you hear on television. It's still a song that you hear on the Internet from wrestling fans that are, you know, pessimistic. It's still something that is there. But I don't think. I think that that was a song that was sung in late February.
Sam
It's overplayed, and it's not even accurate anymore. Listen, I was rocking out to Pink Pony Club for a while, and it's overplayed.
Ross
You've heard it. You know every note.
Sam
I jammed out to it for a while, and it was great. It was fun.
Ross
It was fantastic.
Sam
Good song.
Ross
But it doesn't apply to your life anymore.
Sam
No.
Ross
Right. You're in a different phase in life now.
Sam
I've moved on.
Ross
Okay. Don't worry, Mom. I'm headed back to Tennessee. Okay. You don't have to scream anymore. And that's where Jay uso's at. I feel like every time, ever since he's made Gunther tap and you've brought it up on the show, like, every time we see Jay uso, he. He's more intense than he was before. He's fighting harder than he was before. He's having these matches, like the world title match that he had with Seth Rollins, like, the match that he had tonight with Braun Breaker. Like, I don't. I don't see that in Jay anymore. I don't see that weight of the world on his shoulders. I see that the weight of the world is on his shoulders, but it's.
Sam
Not getting to him like it was before.
Ross
I don't see him as a guy that's crumbling under the weight now that the weight is here. I saw him as a guy that was crumbling under the potential weight, if that makes sense. But once the weight arrived, I mean, Cole said it when he came out and he jumped over the barricade and, like, Cole was like, he looked good with the championship around his waist.
Sam
I mean, you said this a lot in the build to Cody becoming the undisputed WWE champion. What happened to the boy who got everything he ever wanted, right? And that's what we're seeing with Jay uso. What happened? I mean, he's. He's delivering. He's stepping up to the plate, right? He's showing that he belongs.
Ross
But I think somebody like Logan Paul probably wants to bring some of that vulnerability back, right?
Sam
Of course. I think he's always trying to attack someone's weaknesses.
Ross
But then Gunther comes out, and he, like, kind of like, gets Logan Paul into a flattery trap, right? Where he's like, look at you, Mr. Businessman. And Logan Paul's like, I am a businessman, aren't I? And Gunther's like, do you have any idea how badly I'm gonna hurt you? Like, you don't want to win the title?
Sam
And Gunter's like, look, I get this is business for you, Logan, right? For me, this is personal.
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah.
Ross
And I'm gonna eat you alive. Ask Pat, right? Pat's like, honestly, yeah, no, no, he's right. He's right. And Cold's like, no, no, he's right. Yeah, no, I wouldn't mess with him. And Gunther referring to Logan Paul still as an outsider, like, still kind of putting him in that category as outsider. And I think that the same way it might get under Jay Uso's skin, that people would go, yeah, this. This ain't for you. Is the same way it might get under Logan Paul skin when people go, you're an outsider. Like, when you, I think, called him a YouTuber on the show, and he was like, don't call me that. I'm not a YouTuber. It gets under his skin because he.
Sam
Wants to be a wrestler as an.
Ross
Outsider, though, because he's still new to this wrestling thing because he's had some big high profile matches. He's really good at it, but he's on impulsive. He's got, you know, he's got all these other outside interests. You know, he's on the. He's got a reality show. It's not a wrestling reality show. It's a we're a family of stars reality show. Can you imagine Gunther's reality show? I mean, it would be like watching paint dry. It would be just nothing to. Because Gunther would just be sitting until his next match.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
You know, he's like, I'm not here to entertain. I'm not juggling for you. I'm a wrestler. Yeah, right.
Sam
That's exactly right.
Ross
I'm not doing like flame throwing. I'm a wrestler. So when it's time to wrestle, I'll wrestle. And when I'm not wrestling, I'm just gonna sit, have a meal.
Sam
I don't want to make you watch me wrestle.
Ross
Wrestle.
Sam
Because that is the thing I do better than anybody else.
Ross
Right, right. And then of course, Seth coming up to Gunther and going like, hey, if you get the title from either Jay or Logan. And then Seth also went up to Jay and went up to Logan. Seth going up to Logan was interesting because I. I still smell fishiness there. Look, I'm just going to say this. Okay.
Sam
All right, let's hear it.
Ross
I'm just going to tell you what I saw on Raw because I watch what word was Logan Paul saying over and over again. We just said it at the beginning of Monday Night Raw. F, A, C, T. Fact. He kept saying fact. Who else said fact multiple times in the first hour of Monday Night Raw?
Sam
Paul Heyman.
Ross
Yes. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Now look, there is a conflict of interest there because Paul Heyman also. Paul Heyman said fact. Fact. Fact. I said, that sounds familiar already. Okay, okay. But also, Paul Heyman made it clear that the long term plan is for Seth Rollins to be the World Heavyweight Champion. That's the whole idea.
Sam
So there's a conflict right there.
Ross
If Is there?
Sam
I guess Logan Paul wants to be.
Ross
World Heavyweight Champion, then that would be a conflict.
Sam
I mean, we'd have to ask Tyrese. There's only one ball, you know, you can't have.
Ross
That's right.
Sam
There's only one belt.
Ross
That's right. That's 100. Right. This, this, unlike that, this is not a team sport.
Sam
No.
Ross
Unless it is a team sport. Because you would think that Bron Breaker wanted to be World Heavyweight Champion, but he's figured out a way to, as another superstar would put it, get in where he fits in.
Sam
That's right. But he also. And that's. That's exactly what he's. He's doing right now. He realizes being. Yes. Being by Paul Heyman and being by Seth Rollins is helping elevate him towards.
Ross
A better future right now. You said I still see Logan Paul as an outsider.
Sam
I do.
Ross
I'm just saying, what if Logan Paul's priority was to first make it so that he no longer appeared like an outsider by associating? I'm just saying there's a lot going on in my head right now.
Sam
I get that. I did.
Ross
Like, at the same time, Logan is not a great team player. No, historically, he's not a great team player. He's in the Logan Paul business. That's what Gunther's whole thing was about. Logan Paul's in the Logan Paul business.
Sam
About what then what the future is going to look like for Logan Paul if he really is a full timer. What does that look like if he becomes World Heavyweight Champion? What does it look like?
Ross
Right.
Sam
You know, all of these things that you're sort of talking about. I don't know what it. What does the future look like for Logan Paul?
Ross
And we were having conversations watching Raw now because it really complicates things. When you're putting in at the end of Monday Night Raw, we see once again, CM Punk is actually in the building, which I had no idea. CM Punk and Sami Zayn going after Seth Rollins and Bron Breaker. But as we end on Jay uso, who has survived, I would use the word survive, this match with Bron Breaker that ended in the disqualification because of the Seth Rollins interference. Jay USO is standing in the ring with the World Heavyweight Title and Logan Paul knocks him out again. And that's been the story of Logan Paul. You could talk about the move set, you could talk about the athleticism, you.
Sam
Could talk about the brass knuckles.
Ross
Right. Ultimately, it's one lucky punch right at the right time. Listen, William Regal is one of the greatest wrestlers that has ever been in a wrestling ring. You know what? William Regal loved brass knuckles. Whatever's going to win you the match ultimately is what you use. I find it so fascinating, though, because usually you go, as a fan, you go into a World Heavyweight Championship match and you just go, well, who do I think is going to be the World Heavyweight Champion after this match? That. And then that's how you Kind of make your prediction.
Sam
You're thinking about going into this match at all, right? Because there's a. There's a total ripple effect, right?
Ross
Exactly. Exactly. It's like, well, if he wins this, but then he would fight Gunther, and then Gunther might be him, but he could. I see. I couldn't see.
Sam
And then we.
Ross
Gunther being champion again. And would Jay. How could Jay beat Gunther again?
Sam
I mean, he's one in three. He tapped him out.
Ross
But, like, would you really see Jay beat Gunther again?
Sam
I don't know.
Ross
I wouldn't think so either. Like, we.
Sam
Then. Is Logan Paul really going to beat.
Ross
Jay only for Gunther to beat Logan Paul? Or would Logan Paul be Gunther?
Sam
And then are we gonna run back.
Ross
Who does Seth Rollins fight ultimately? You see what I'm saying? Like, yeah, you. You would go, who does Seth Rollins ultimately fight? And then how do we do backwards arithmetic to get through Logan, Paul and Gunther to get to Seth? It's a wild puzzle to figure out. It's a Rubik's Cube. I'm just spinning sides all of a sudden. I'm looking down. I got green. Yes. I got one side. The other sides are a mess. I gotta screw up my green to get the other sides.
Sam
I did. Like how when we saw Guenther and Seth backstage, Seth approached Guenther with respect and was sort of like, look, I. I admire your work.
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah.
Sam
I'm a fan of what you did with my title. And that's when things sort of took a turn.
Ross
Who do you. Okay. Who do you associate that championship with? I think every. When you go through. Historically, you. I associate championships with people.
Sam
So for me, it's different than it is for you because I'm newer to. So for me, the Intercontinental title.
Ross
Right.
Sam
Is Gunter.
Ross
Interesting.
Sam
Because he's held it the longest for.
Ross
Me is Bret Hart.
Sam
Exactly.
Ross
Right. Because that's where I grew up with it.
Sam
And for me, the World Heavyweight Championship is Seth Rollins, because they introduced the World Heavyweight Championship and Seth Rollins was the first World Heavyweight Champion.
Ross
And so now when he says, that's my title, part of you. Right. Part of you goes, that's disrespectful. You don't want to say that to Gunther, but the other party go, that doesn't mean it's false.
Sam
Yeah. And I. Yeah, sure. Do I associate Gunter with a World Heavyweight Championship? Yes, because he's Gunter and he's so dominant. But if I have to say what title defines Gunter, I'm saying Intercontinental.
Ross
Interesting. Yeah.
Sam
I mean, he holds the record 100%.
Ross
100%. And if I, I might associate that version. Honestly, now you get into like real belt geek stuff. But that version of the Intercontinental title, like meaning the aesthetic, I probably associate with Gunther too. I keep. It keeps giving me Sami Zayn vibes for whatever reason as I'm picturing it. But I think it's fair to say Gunther. But yeah, I generally see like Bret Hart, Intercontinental Champion. I see the Winged Eagle probably with Hogan. You know what I mean? Maybe, you know, you could, I could see Brad, I could see Sean, but probably with Hogan. I see that big Eagle like attitude ERA belt probably with Triple H. You know, I, I see the more modern day WWE Championship still. I see it with Roman.
Sam
I see it with Roman as well.
Ross
I mean, look, Cody's the man, but 1, 316 days is 1316 days and I don't care. John Cena, I don't see it with you. Okay. I see it with Roman Reigns. We could talk about Cody Rhodes. I don't see it with the guy who wants to ruin wrestling. And I don't think it's cute that people cheering. But that's regardless, because we're here to talk about Raw. We do need to bring in a guest. Meghan Moran, a very special guest here on Raw. Recap. This is very, very exciting because he's going to be part of the next DLC pack for WWE 2K25. But he's also got some, some basketball games coming.
Sam
And this is big for you because you're a big basketball guy.
Ross
Yeah, let's, I mean, made on his team, but I'm, I'm, I'm watching. Oh, baby. Memorial Day is around the corner. And if you're going to do Memorial Day, you got to do Memorial Day, right? If you're going to step up to that grill, you got to step up to the grill, Correct? You don't just, you can't just be a grill master. You have to start with the quality ingredients. You have to have the best meats, the best cuts, the best burgers, the best everything. And who's going to hook that up for you? You're not going to be able to go to a store and buy it? No, you got to get it from Omaha Steaks. Our, our friends at Omaha Steaks will deliver it right to your door. I'm talking heartland quality food straight up to your house, ready for you to plunk down on that grill and impress all of your friends. This is five generations of uncompromising quality. There is nothing on the planet like Omaha Steaks. And it has convinced the world that I am one of the supreme grillers of all time. That's our secret. Me and you. It's thanks to Omaha Steaks. Bring home the world's best steak experience with omaha steaks. Visit omaha steaks.com for 50% off site wide during their Memorial Day sale and get an extra $35 off. Use promo code WWE at checkout to get that discount. That's Omaha Steaks.com promo code WWE. See site for details before he gets to the Eastern Conference finals. Welcome to Raw recap from the Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Halliburton. Tyrese, what's going on, man?
Tyrese Halliburton
How we doing? I appreciate you guys having Megan. I like the jersey. I mean, I see you. It looks great. It looks great.
Sam
Tyrese. I. I actually just happened to be wearing this today. I didn't even know that you were going to be joining us. But Sam is a New Yorker.
Ross
I'm a New Yorker.
Sam
And you also don't really roll out the red carpet for our guests. Becky lynch had some problems with you last time. I mean, Penta, he had some issues with you. So I'm just trying to make Tyrese feel welcome.
Ross
Oh, good.
Tyrese Halliburton
I appreciate that. I appreciate that very much.
Ross
Well, what's. I mean, what's in your head right now? Right, because you're here. We kind of, as we were talking, couldn't believe you're doing the pod. We know how big of a WWE fan you are, but realistically, the Eastern Conference finals are in like two days, and you're just kind of, your whole vibe right now is very chilling. Like what, what is your mind state at the moment?
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah, I'm excited to compete. You know, we've had like a week, you know, to get prepared, so I'm just waiting for the, for the time to get on the flight and get to get to New York and get to game one. But I mean, mentally, I do all the same stuff. You know, I'm in here watching wb, playing video games. This kind of. You're. You're seeing my game room right now. This is really my sanctuary. So this is where I spend a lot of my time. But yeah, nothing really changes as far as my day to day. I'm still who I am. I just, when, you know, when those nights come to, to win a playoff game, you know, that's when I get. Get really serious, get in my lock in mode.
Ross
Yeah, that's what always trips me out about elite athletes, because I feel like most of us, if we knew that something big was looming like, you know, any of us, if the. If the most remote thing is in, like, you know, two weeks from now, we're just kind of thinking like, oh, I got a dentist appointment in two weeks. I got to make sure to remember that dentist appointment. Are you able to just, like, on a Monday night, sit down, watch Raw, and not have any voice in your head tell you, hey, get ready for that thing that's coming up?
Tyrese Halliburton
Well, it's always in my head.
Ross
Yeah.
Tyrese Halliburton
I'd be lying if I said that that wasn't the case. You know, I can't even open my phone without, you know, a text from a family member about the game or, like, everything I'm thinking about the game 24 7. I'm thinking already about what game one's going to look like, matchups, all those things all the time. But at the same time, I think it's important for my mental that I get a little bit of a release. And if I'm sitting there, basketball, basketball.
Megan Moran
Basketball, I feel like my mind will get overwhelmed. So it's important for me, you know, to be doing other things, whether it's playing games with my brother, watching wwe, watching movies, whatever the case is just getting, you know, my. In a different headspace for just a little bit. Obviously, my head is still thinking about the game a little bit, but if I could just be involved in something else, that. That always helps me.
Ross
Yeah, I. I will tell you, as a wrestling fan, I'm more excited about a conference final than I've ever been because it feels like the payoff to a WWE storyline. And then I think about you, who I knew grew up a WWE fan and also with a dream, I'm sure, to play professional basketball. Those two things are colliding right in my mind. I go back 10 months to smackdown and you and Jalen having your confrontation. First of all, is there any. And this is a stupid question, but is there any part of you as a wrestling fan that can get there and go, this is kind of a payoff to a WWE story? And second, when that confrontation happened, I know is in Madison Square Garden, but how did you feel about the fact that you finally get this opportunity and you're booked as the heel?
Megan Moran
Well, okay, two part question.
Tyrese Halliburton
The first part is, is, yeah, I am fully understanding that we are going into the Garden and I am a full heel. Like, there's no. There's no play in the middle. There's none of that. I am the heel, and I'm leaning into it. It's a lot of fun for Me, when I go to the Garden or just play anywhere to, you know, to have that. That reputation or whatever, it's a lot of fun. I really. I view basketball as that sometimes when I play at home, I'm more of a face. I'm on the road to meals. I like this. And I think that I was. I was really about getting to play the heel in the Garden because I've always wanted to do something with wwe. It's always been a dream of mine. I would love to take a bump or something, but obviously the league is not going for that. The faces are not letting that happen. So Triple H called me up and he was like, hey, we want you to, you know, come to smackdown.
Megan Moran
And I was like, no question. Like that. I'm going to be the bad guy. I was like, oh, no, I'm all in. I was so excited for that.
Tyrese Halliburton
As a kid, I always imagined if.
Megan Moran
I was a wrestler, I'd be the bad guy because I'm like the skinny guy who can talk. Talk trash to people and then, you know, figure it out in the ring. I always imagined myself as like the mouthpiece of a stable. Like, I always felt like that was supposed to be me, so it fit well. And then I honestly didn't even know Jalen was going to be there until like the day before or like the day of. So he got there, and me and Jalen are cool.
Tyrese Halliburton
So I was like, are you coming?
Megan Moran
He's like, yeah. And then all these things, you know, we're figuring it out and this is what it's going to be. Just a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun doing it. And yeah, I'm really appreciative of. Of WWE for letting me do that. And hopefully there's many more opportunities to me for me to get involved in the future.
Ross
Yeah, I think. I think the league probably changed their whole opinion about players and participation in wrestling when Dennis Rodman started skipping practice. So he go to nitro. Yeah, that's probably.
Sam
Well, you brought up the 90s, and, you know, we're all familiar with the Pacers and the Knicks rivalry back in the 90s. I mean, I haven't stopped watching that clip of Spike Lee and Reggie Miller. But now that this is. This is reignited this Pacers Knicks rivalry. If you had to pick a WWE rivalry. I keep saying the word rivalry, but oh, my goodness, if you had to pick one that it was most similar to, which one stands out to you?
Megan Moran
Oh, that's a great question.
Tyrese Halliburton
Here's the thing is, we are two.
Megan Moran
Young teams who haven't won in a very long time. Right. So for me, it feels like it's more like the NXT rivalry or like, like, intercontinental championship belt because it's two guys who haven't really proven that it can be a top guy yet. So that, to me, kind of makes me feel like it's like nxt. I'm thinking like Bron Breaker, Carmelo Hayes. That's kind of where my mind is going. But I'm definitely thinking younger guys that want to get to the mountaintop because, like, they haven't won a championship since the 70s paces have never won an NBA championship.
Tyrese Halliburton
So, you know, I don't want to.
Megan Moran
Say there's like a changing of the guard in our league right now, but the four teams that are left, there are a lot of young players, and so that's exciting time for our league. So I like to think more that route than I would tell you, like, Cody Roman, because if I thought like Cody Roman, I'm thinking like Steph lebron. Like, I'm thinking like, yeah, you know, the guys who are established and doing it, I'm thinking more of the not established guys yet, you know, coming into their own. So that's kind of where my mind goes right now on the spot. But let me think on that a little bit more. I'll get you a better answer.
Ross
That's such a. It's. I mean, I actually think that's such a great answer. Right. Because first of all, I, like, I was just looking at the graphic before you came on that I don't know if who made it, but it was like, it was like you and Jalen, and then in the shadows of you guys were Reggie and Patrick Ewing and just like, you know, the. The history of this rivalry. But I was also like, this morning, I'm watching First Take, and Stephen A. Is talking about you and Jalen and this debate as to whether or not you guys are actually superstars yet. And. And you being overrated earlier in the season and all this stuff, and I feel like for me, as like, the wrestling historian and tell me if you're familiar with it, I feel like when it's like a. It's almost like a Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels intercontinental title era, right, where you guys are in the land of the Giants, but you both are like, no, we're the. We're the future of the league. And now this is the series where we get to prove this is what you guys are going to be watching for the next 10, 15, 20 years.
Megan Moran
Right, for sure.
Ross
Yeah.
Megan Moran
As long as I get to come out to sexy boy.
Ross
You would be Sean.
Tyrese Halliburton
As long as that's part of it, I'm all for it.
Sam
Well, you know, speaking of entrance music, you talk about how you got to get in that mindset for game day. Right now you're just chilling, but you're thinking about the game. On your pregame pump up playlist. Is there any WWE music that's a.
Megan Moran
You know what? We actually were just talking about this in the massage room today because I don't know if it's as much theme songs as it is, like, pay per view, like, promo package theme songs. You know what I'm saying? Like, we always think back to, like, we. We literally. I forgot what Hero by Skillet was like The Royal Rumble 2010.
Ross
Ten.
Megan Moran
And me. Me and TJ McConnell were talking about that today. You guys have seen the. Everybody's taken the Me and Brunson moment and putting Limp Biscuit.
Ross
Yes.
Tyrese Halliburton
So that's cool to see. Those songs have, like, started to just pop up when I'm in the car. Like, it's just in my head, so I just play it in the moment. So those are more what's getting played than anything. But if I had to pick a theme song that I would really put in my rotation, honestly speaking, it's probably Mark Henry because that makes me. That. That's the song that makes me feel the most.
Megan Moran
Like, okay, like, let's.
Tyrese Halliburton
Like, somebody's gonna get the ass kicked.
Megan Moran
Like, I like. I like that line. So I like. It's probably Mark Henry. That's probably what is on top of my head.
Ross
And I think it's a great answer because you're a cool guy. Mark's a cool guy. But there's something about that song coming on. You remember that era of Mark Henry where it was like, nope, I've been here for too long, and I've been too nice to too many people. I'm gonna go squash everybody.
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah. Yeah. It's. That's probably my number one pick for sure.
Ross
I also love the idea of the pay per view theme because it really does go back that. That's what puts you in that battle mode. That's where you start thinking about, like, the.
Tyrese Halliburton
The.
Ross
The main events and the matches and stuff like that.
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, it's not even. Sometimes when I'm like, really? Like, all right, I wanna. WWE's on my mind. Sometimes I'll.
Megan Moran
There's, like, Spotify playlist that will have, like, songs from WWE video games that like, I don't remember or like, I don't, I don't know why I would know that song, but it's only because I used to play WWE video games my whole life. It's like I'm hitting shuffle and I'm getting like the most random songs to pop up like Red Hot Chili Peppers or whatever the case is. And I'm like, I like this song. And everybody's like, how do you know it? I'm like, wwe.
Ross
Hey, what do you think while we got you here, I mean, totally off topic of, of what you're doing in the NBA right now. What do you think of Jay USO as champion?
Megan Moran
Oh, man, it's amazing to see. It's amazing to see. I met Jay at Fastlane.
Tyrese Halliburton
Everybody remembers the notorious him and Cody Presser moment. I was in the room. I was there. I was in the room. So that was my first time meeting Jay and Cody and those guys. And we talked in the back for a while. They were super cool. So it's super cool to see this happening for Jay.
Megan Moran
You know, I, I have a long.
Tyrese Halliburton
Term plan to get him in some Pumas. I know he wears sneakers when he wrestles, so I've been plotting on that to make that happen. But yeah, it's, it's really cool to see him doing what he's doing. And it's so fun because like I went to Royal Rumble, I brought a couple teammates, I brought my brother and like seeing the crowd energy for him.
Megan Moran
And like explaining to people who don't necessarily know wrestling, they're like, I can get behind that guy because everybody's behind that guy. You know, that's why it's so, it's.
Tyrese Halliburton
So cool to see. So he's, he's facing Logan at Saturday night event and obviously I was with Logan at smackdown. So I'm a little torn there because those are both my guys. But my heart tells me that I'm with Jey uso, so I think that's, I think that's where it's leading.
Sam
Well, you did a Puma collab with wwe, right? I saw you had some DX shoes on.
Tyrese Halliburton
Oh, yeah. I did do a couple pe, so I did a P for my All Pro.
Megan Moran
I did a dx, which I wore against the Bucks. I had a game winner in those shoes, so Triple H was very excited about that. Good for the brand. And then I wore an Undertaker pair that I did in the closeout game against the Bucks in the playoffs. So yeah, I've been fortunate Enough to.
Tyrese Halliburton
Do some things with wwe and hopefully there's many more things moving forward.
Ross
I don't know if you saw. I mean, you talk about crowd energy, right? And you tried to throw me under the bus for being a New Yorker. Like you don't live in Connecticut. Like you didn't drive right here from the Midwest.
Sam
And listen, I came dressed, dressed for the occasion. You didn't.
Ross
Wow. You didn't want to see the jersey that I was going to wear. But everybody in New York is losing their minds right now. You can't go anywhere without the excitement about this, about this game, about this series coming up. They tore the city down. They went outside of Madison Square Garden. I'm sure you saw those videos. You know how Knicks fans feel about the fact that we are finally making it in to the conference finals.
Sam
Oh, you're a we guy now.
Ross
If that. We.
Sam
You're part of the team.
Ross
We.
Sam
Okay.
Ross
We. We.
Tyrese Halliburton
Respect it. I respect it.
Ross
I appreciate that. I thought. I was hoping you would. If there is a message though, that you could send to all of us that were out there feeling that spirit. I wasn't actually outside of Madison Square Garden, but I was watching on Twitter, so I feel like I was there. If you could send a message to the guy that was sitting on top of a billboard with his slides on, if you could send a message to the guy doing pull ups on the street lamp, what would you say to those Knicks fans?
Megan Moran
It's a great question. It's almost a lob for a setup right there.
Tyrese Halliburton
I think I would.
Megan Moran
Congratulations. Exciting time to be a basketball fan right now. Congratulations.
Tyrese Halliburton
And then I would reach out for the handshake. Cena Orton and I would say, you know, like, we'll see, we're excited to play. You got good luck this round. And then it is what it is. From there, it's ready to go. So it's an exciting time to be a basketball fan.
Megan Moran
Excited time to be a Knicks fan.
Tyrese Halliburton
Excited time to be a Pacers fan. So looking forward to it.
Ross
What a diplomatic answer. But I know that once you get on the court, you'll be doing, metaphorically, you'll be shoving the thumb in Orton's eye the same way.
Sam
Yeah, he's going full heel.
Ross
Of course he is. You know, once he's out there, I've seen what he does with his hands. Of course he's going to go for you. You hear that? That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds, no alerts, no distractions, and no Telling what you'll find next, you know, like a detour. So why would you ever take a tour? And you could take a detour. Toyota trucks. Speaking of Knicks fans, and speaking of that episode of Smackdown and Jalen Brunson, you both ended up with T shirts on WWE Shop, which again, all right, like, right, like just being a fan, having your own WWE T shirt, I'm sure is nuts. Who do you think is going to sell more T shirts? Speaking of lobs, who do you think is going to sell more T shirts? You on WWE Shop? You or Jalen Brunson?
Tyrese Halliburton
Okay, well, the markets we play in are a little. Are a little different in size. So there happens to be more people in New York than Indy. So I'm a math guy. Analytically, right. By the numbers wise, it would, it would say Jalen. It would probably say Jalen. But that's okay because I know people are still going to buy my shirt. I got a bobblehead with the shirt.
Ross
With the title too.
Megan Moran
Yeah, they had the title.
Tyrese Halliburton
It's really cool though, because I always wanted to do things with wwe and this shirt obviously inspired by Stone Cold. And that's why when I went to the Garden, I wore jean shorts. I haven't worn jean shorts in so long. I went and found some jorts just to be. I was like, I wanted to get. And I wore boots. Like, I, I could have wore like sneakers. I was like, no, I'm leaning in. I'm going. Boots, jorts. I couldn't find any knee braces, but I was going to lean completely into it. But it was a lot of fun to do that. And so I tried to like, make my shirt as inspired by Stone Cold as I could. And like, even the back, the little, the zero with the flames coming out, I was thinking about Stone Cold with the flames coming out of the eyes, right? So I went all in. And so I really appreciate WWE for what they did. They took my, my vision and brought it to life. So Jaylen by analytics, Jalen will probably sell more and that's okay, right? I know there's going to be people out there buying now.
Sam
There's a lot of people saying that analytics are actually ruining the game of basketball. So I think that. And then also, I mean, you are a real die hard WWE fan and that shows. So I think you should give yourself more credit because people connect with authenticity and you're an authentic fan.
Ross
I also think you're going to get some points because I swear, I'm so glad you said that. It's been 10 months that I've been wondering myself, is he trying to bring back George? Is Tyrese Halliburton trying to bring. I haven't. I genuinely.
Tyrese Halliburton
I don't think I've worn Jorge since then. And I don't remember last time we're jorts before then. I was like, we gotta go full stone cold. I'm wearing black boots. I'm wearing the jorts. I. I had a watch on that's not necessarily stone cold, but I tried to lean in as much as I could. I thought I did a decent job.
Ross
We gotta. Before we let you go, to get into the mind frame not only for what's to come, but what's happened on Monday Night Raw and everything. I gotta. I gotta ask you, because you are, and I love. I love people like you who are so successful in what they do, but never stop being a fan of what they've always been a fan of is there. And I'm sure you have access to it by now, but if there was one, call it a celebrity, could be a wrestler, could be an athlete, whatever it is that you could get their autograph. Who would that human be, and what would the item be that you would have them sign?
Tyrese Halliburton
It's not even close. Hold on.
Ross
Okay. Okay. By the way, it's a sweet game room.
Sam
This is gonna be good.
Tyrese Halliburton
Okay, so. So here, you see, I have the replica, right?
Ross
I have the replica spinner belt.
Tyrese Halliburton
But. But my dad recently found my childhood toy belt that I wrote my name on the bottom.
Ross
Oh, my gosh.
Tyrese Halliburton
In Sharpie, it says Tyrese on the nameplate.
Megan Moran
Yes, this is my childhood belt.
Tyrese Halliburton
It's falling apart, but I keep it because that if I get anything signed, it'll be this by John himself.
Ross
Oh.
Sam
Oh, my God.
Tyrese Halliburton
That would be number one. And the Rumble was. I went to the Rumble. A little crazy. Yeah. I had this belt in my. But I didn't bring it in, and so I didn't even.
Megan Moran
I.
Tyrese Halliburton
We remember we played a game that day. So I came in just for the Rumble and then left. John lost. Unfortunately, we left. I didn't get to see him, so it wouldn't matter if I had the belt, but that would be number one, definitely John Cena to sign that belt.
Ross
Oh, my God.
Sam
I love that you're walking around with your childhood belt. You never know the opportunity is going to come up.
Ross
It's awesome. It's awesome. Well, then you got to get to one of these dates. As he's counting down, you got to get to one of these Dates.
Tyrese Halliburton
I know. Well, we're a little busy right now, right?
Ross
That's right. I heard about that.
Tyrese Halliburton
When this is done, there will be. I'm going to get to another Cena retirement tour. I just don't know which one. But I'm going to go to something. I don't know what it is yet, but I will. I will definitely be there. As much as I can.
Sam
I can see it right now. You, John Cena, the Larry o' Brien and your childhood belts, the spinner belt side. I can pass out.
Tyrese Halliburton
If that happened, I'd probably pass out. That would be the best, the best, the best thing ever.
Ross
That's amazing. Well, man, thank you so much for making the time for us in the busiest set of weeks that you could possibly have. We appreciate it. I say is human to human and because I feel like we're getting on. Good luck to you.
Tyrese Halliburton
Appreciate that person to hurts to say it does hurt. I appreciate it.
Sam
Good luck, Tyrese. We're cheering for you.
Tyrese Halliburton
Yeah. Thank you.
Ross
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Sam
He's the best.
Ross
And did you see what he did on Pat's show to help the pacers fan that got.
Sam
I mean, you Knicks fans, listen, we get excited.
Ross
We don't get this happening to us all that often. Okay? We get excited. What can I tell you?
Sam
That was rude.
Ross
He was. He was overzealous. But I will give you overzealous.
Sam
I mean, Tyler is doing this on his own. He's flying the fan out. You know, the whole team's gonna meet him. A dream come true.
Ross
I don't have confirmat he'll be wearing the jorts in 2k25, but I am very glad that we finally got some confirmation on the Jordans. I was literally, I was rewatching, you know, in WWE YouTube, they posted the Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Halliburton interaction from Smackdown.
Sam
From last summer, which, by the way, why didn't we put a future on that?
Ross
I know.
Sam
I was like, what were the odds on it?
Ross
I know, I know. But I was watching it again, going like, I thought I found it kind of wholesome that I'm like, he just wears shorts like that. Like, he's just wearing jean shorts. Like, that's. That's what Tyrese Halliburton wears. And then to find out it was a. It was a low key, stone cold reference. I was like, okay, I appreciate it.
Sam
I wonder if during the series if he'll do his little arrive at the arena shot in some sort of wrestling gear.
Ross
Who knows? Maybe It'll be the Tyrese 317. You can get that on WWE Shop. Obviously somebody that's been making a major splash. Oh, yeah, on WWE Shop is, I'll say, friend of the show, Carrie and Cross, who actually posted a very interesting video this week on social media.
Karrion Kross
How do we make this happen? Like, what does that look like? They're like, we'll get back to you. And they got back to me relatively quickly, actually. So bringing it to your attention, moving forward, from my understanding, starting this Monday night at Raw, my shirts will be available in the arena. So it feels awesome. I want to say thank you to everybody. You guys actually made that happen completely. I don't think I would have had a case. You know, they're doing all right online. So they see you and they hear you.
Ross
Yeah. Really cool to see this all happen. For carrying Cross, if you go to WWE Shop, you've seen that shirt be in the. In the top tier. And yet. Well, I saw on social media that it did happen tonight on Raw at the merch stands, the carrying Cross T shirt was there. So if you were in the arena, you got a chance to get it. If you are not in the arena and have to get that shirt because it's what everybody's talking about right now, you can go to WWE Shop. You can get the Karrion Kross shirt. Our pals of fanatics also, of course, have all the John Cena farewell gear for Saturday night's main event. John Cena is on his way to Tampa. You can get all the John Cena farewell Tampa exclusive merch right now at WWE Shop. Once it's gone, it's gone. So fanatics is hooking it up. And for everybody excited about Saturday night's main event. And you don't need a John Cena shirt or you already have your John Cena shirt. Want to support the other superstars that are part of Saturday night's main event. Everybody's represented. CM Punk and Jay USO are going to be at Saturday night's main event. You can get those shirts at WWE Shop. All. All the stars that you will see this weekend. And we're going to be predicting the whole card in just a few minutes. So if you. If you hear those names and you're like, yeah, I want to rep those superstars, WWE Shop is your spot. Fanatics has it all hooked up, and we thank them very, very much. We will get to Saturday night's main event. However, that's not the only big event that everybody's talking about right now. Of course, after Saturday night's main event is going to be the Money in the Bank Premium live event where we'll see the women's Money in the bank ladders.
Sam
One of my favorites.
Ross
It's the best. It's so fun. The men's Money in the bank ladder match. And we really started to get a picture of what the women's Money in the bank ladder match is going to look like. It's nuts, huh?
Sam
Already?
Ross
Yes.
Sam
Roxanne Perez, right, Who is having a better year than just about anyone.
Ross
Literally starting from the Royal Rumble.
Sam
Yes. Record in the Royal Rumble.
Ross
Yep.
Sam
Finishing the runner up.
Ross
Right.
Sam
Signing with Raw.
Ross
We're having those night. And having several breakout performances on the way to her Monday night Raw signing. You know, we're talking Raw after Wrestlemania. We're talking the tag teamwork she was doing with Julia. But after Julia gets signed to smackdown, Adam Pierce says, hold my beer. We just had our own signing. Roxanne Perez, officially a member of the Raw roster, and on her first night as an official member of the Raw roster, she gets into a triple threat match, qualifies in the money, and will Be a part of the money in the bank ladder match, which means she's in that field. She could climb that ladder, get the briefcase. And all of a sudden. And this is why it's such a fun match, because all of a sudden, you're looking at a future where every conversation that we have about Roxanne Perez or about the women's world championship or the women's wwe championship, they all combine. They all have to deal with each other now. They are all part of that same world until Roxanne decides to cash it in. If she gets it.
Sam
Roxanne Perez going up against Natalia and Becky Lynch.
Ross
I mean.
Sam
I mean, we all saw the clip of total divas, Roxanne Perez standing outside telling Natalia that she wants to be a diva, and it's the only thing she ever sees herself doing. And here she is, she's, you know, going toe to toe with Natalia and the man.
Ross
And she pinned Natalia.
Sam
Exactly. To win the match and didn't look like, oh, I'm just happy to be there.
Ross
No. Oh, that's not Roxanne anymore.
Sam
Not anymore.
Ross
She's come a long way since reality.
Sam
Television, and I love that.
Ross
What about your girl Lyra getting them wangs out? We didn't even notice. She snuck out of the crowd. She said, okay, Becky, you got things to say. I'm going to make sure you're not in that ladder match. I like that. Lyra Valkyria has a little bit of a mean streak, you know? Lyra Valkyria is a powerful, powerful human being. I like that.
Sam
I mean, she saw what Becky Lynch. I mean, she experienced what Becky lynch did to her firsthand.
Ross
Yeah.
Sam
Losing broken nose.
Ross
Oh.
Sam
Oh.
Ross
She had a broken nose. And the intercontinental championship. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take the broken noise if I can.
Sam
She's messing with the man. It's not a good spot to be.
Ross
Listen, she's the intercontinental champion for a reason.
Sam
For now.
Ross
She had a match with Becky Lynch. She won the match, and then she got beat up.
Tyrese Halliburton
Oh, I got beat up.
Ross
That's the name of the game.
Sam
I don't know.
Ross
Okay.
Sam
She didn't look through.
Ross
This ain't ballet. Well, no, you're not gonna be thrilled about it, but ultimately, he who laughs last loudest. Yes. She had no championship.
Sam
She's. I mean, she just keeps up in the ante.
Ross
Also, she's not in the money bank ladder match.
Sam
Yeah, but she's getting. I don't know why I'm so sick of this week.
Ross
You Fire your fire. You come on here every week after a Becky lynch loss.
Sam
You're disrespectful to Becky lynch. That's all.
Ross
Because it's crazy what you do. You come on here.
Sam
See what I do?
Ross
Nuts. You come on here and you talk about how great things are for Becky lynch after every time she loses a big match, she comes in, she loses a big match. You go, oh, everybody's escape afraid of Becky Lynch.
Sam
They should be afraid of Becky Lynch.
Ross
Sure she's great but like you can't go. Everything's coming up Becky right now. She's not in the ladder match. She's not in that. Roxanne Perez is not her.
Sam
Lyra big deal. Lyra ruined it. So watch out Lyra, you're going to get it again.
Ross
What again? She's Lyra still broken nose.
Sam
Lyra still legit Wangs will be broken. I don't.
Ross
You can't mess with those wangs. Everybody's trying to get them out right now.
Sam
People are putting their wings up.
Ross
You really do act like Becky lynch won the match against Lyra Valkyria. That's what's nuts to me.
Sam
It's funny because I feel like you did this with Dominic Mysterio for a while.
Ross
Dominic Mysterio's leader got now champion, eventually.
Sam
Willed him to becoming a champion. That's not how listen Becky is. I mean she's held so many titles, I don't need to will her to win another. But all I'm saying is I think so now. I think she's going to come up big here.
Ross
Now you're telling me I don't know what self help books you've been reading but now you're telling me that the reason that Dom, the sole reason, only reason because you will that Dominic Mysterio is the intercontinental champion is because I single handedly manifested it.
Sam
Well, you got everybody on board and that's why people are cheering him now and not booing him. I mean this is just like. Look, look, this is what's great about wrestling is the fans matter. But fans are buying carrying Cross's T shirt. The fans are cheering for Dominic.
Ross
So you're saying that when a stadium full of fans were cheering for Dominic, you turned into Chris Farley and Tommy boy looking at me going what you do?
Sam
That's exactly it.
Ross
Wow.
Sam
You were the first person on the Dominic Mysterio fan.
Ross
I'll take it. I was very public with my support and by the way, I'm still feeling the ramifications of that. Go Ahead and watch the Penta interview. It really was frightening for some of us. Not you.
Sam
No, not me at all. You rub a lot of our guests the wrong way.
Ross
I mean, that I'll say is true. And I don't know, I feel like I'm being gaslit because I feel like you're the one who says nuts things. And then I.
Sam
Well, I'm just saying I don't think this was smart of life.
Ross
I think Tyrese liked you better than me.
Sam
Yeah, he did.
Ross
I think Becky liked you better than me.
Sam
Without a doubt.
Ross
Penta, for sure.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
New day.
Sam
Oh.
Ross
I mean, they even took shots at you, but not nearly like they did at me.
Sam
No, they made fun of you.
Ross
Dominic likes me better than you.
Sam
Without. Yeah, yeah, definitely. But I think he might actually like Roxanne Perez better than both of us, because we were just talking about Roxanne Perez.
Ross
Yeah. And she. Yeah, yeah.
Sam
Look, and seeing her, you know, her.
Ross
With Finn Balor, it's really interesting. Yeah. And you talk. I mean, she's busy. Not only did she. Tonight. Tonight, Roxanne Perez signed to Monday Night Raw, then qualified for money in the bank, then was introduced as not a full member, but a friend of the Judgment Day by Finn Balor. And I was just on Not Sam wrestling podcast going like, hey, somebody needs to explain to me what's going on with Finn Balor and Roxanne Perez, because I've been seeing it in the background. And once again, not Sam Stradamus hit the nail on the head.
Sam
Sam Stradamus. I do like that Roxanne Perez showed up with presents for everybody. You never walk into someone's house empty handed. So she wasn't going to walk into the Judgment Day clubhouse empty handed. She had a box of chicken tendies. And I think there may have been a little sparkle in Dominic's eye.
Ross
Those were. Those, by the way, those were nugs.
Sam
Different than tendies.
Ross
I mean, barely in the same family. So different. However, he was still. You were right about the sparkle. You're right about the happiness. I just wanted to not put out a podcast where we called chicken nuggets chicken tendies.
Sam
Oh, my apology.
Ross
Thank you. Thank you. I'm trying to be professional. Do you. And she gave Carlito some apples. Some apples. Because those are cool.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
So I don't know. I took it as manipulative. If somebody starts giving me, like, if somebody knows me too well and, like, give, like, I don't really know you like that, but you gave me, like, a gift that I really, really like. Part of me is like, I'm definitely keeping this gift. This is actually very nice. And then another part of me is like, why are you trying so hard?
Sam
Well, if. If my. Like, if another woman gave my husband a gift, yeah, I would be very upset. Yeah.
Ross
Yeah, sure.
Sam
So Liv Morgan has to be very upset watching this happen, especially since.
Ross
Well, I mean, look, this is what ha. I mean, you go do movies.
Sam
Dominic is a beautiful man.
Ross
Gorgeous. Like, hello. You gotta understand, like, what you jumped on board for, right? Like, you gotta understand. You got basically, journalism in the Preakness. Okay. You got the number one horse in that locker room. Okay. You watch Preakness. It was great.
Sam
Of course.
Ross
So Liv is watching tricks that Liv pulled on Dom when Rio was around once again, be pulled on Dom now that Liv is around. And I do. I think you might be right about that, because Liv used to give Dom tendies and nugs when Ria would be like, hey, what's going on?
Sam
I'm just.
Ross
I'm just hungry, dude. Just having something to eat, Right?
Sam
Yeah, no problem at all.
Ross
Learn about Cuba eating some food.
Sam
But before Liv started treating Dom to tendies and nugs, she was spotted with Finn Balor. So maybe Finn Balor.
Ross
Wait, a pot? Yes. Because who was Roxanne spotted with before.
Sam
She gave Finn Balor?
Ross
Oh, my God. History's repeating itself. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. What would we call them instead of live? Dom.
Karrion Kross
Rox.
Ross
Dom. Dom rocks. Dom rocks. Dom rocks.
Sam
Yes.
Ross
Are we seeing the birth of Dom rocks? Don't let Liv Morgan see this podcast.
Sam
Oh, no.
Ross
I mean, Dom is not a difficult guy to charm. Like, you just give him some chicken tennis and some 2K and, like, you're kind of set.
Sam
Yeah, he literally did. My face lit up when he saw those.
Ross
He did my live podcast in Vegas for one pouch of Capri Sun.
Sam
Capri.
Ross
Capri Sun. Capri Sun. One pouch is all it took. And he did the pot. He was like, yeah, it was great pot. Yeah. I'm having a great time, so. Wow. I didn't even put two and two together.
Sam
I think Finn may be stirring the pot here.
Ross
Finn to live, to Tendies, to Dom. Finn to Roxanne, to Tendies, or Nuggs to Dom. It's the same path. Liv must be seething. How's she going to be in this movie?
Sam
So Liv wasn't really the homewrecker. Finn was the homewrecker.
Ross
Wow. He just realized, look, this is a winning strategy. It's going to Work every single time.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
Finn isn't a homewrecker. He's a home wrecking coach.
Sam
It's a good strategy.
Ross
Like he finds himself a quarterback to make the throw, but he's gonna. He's the one that's orchestrating all the plays.
Sam
And I like the way he's doing it because he's doing it all wearing a Dominic Mysterio T shirt. Right? I mean, that's his brother, his friend.
Ross
I mean, look, he's not doing Dominic a disservice. It doesn't sound like. To tell you the truth, Dominic is winning. Dominic is winning across the board because.
Sam
Either way, he gets nugs, tendies and companionship.
Ross
Yeah, companionship for beautiful women. Honestly, the life we should all aspire for.
Sam
And a championship.
Ross
And don't forget, he's the Intercontinental Champion. And everyone's going to be able to meet Dominic Mysterio. Did you know about that?
Sam
No, I didn't.
Ross
Oh, yeah. New York City, baby. Fanatics Fest is coming back. Listen to this lineup. Okay, I'm just going to read it. Okay, forget listen. Because they. They added, I think, four new names this week, but this is who's coming. Fanatics Fest is going to be in New York City June 20th through the 22nd at the Jacob Javits Center. Right. And so all the tickets are available. Get them right now. Go to Fanatics Fest. We'll be there. It's going to be amazing. Listen to who's going to be there. John Cena, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Alexa Blitz. I think she lost.
Sam
Okay.
Ross
Alexa Bliss, Dominic Mysterio, all of those get added to the list that already included. Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, the Undertaker, Jay uso, Trish Stratus, Liv Morgan. All of them confirmed for Fanatics Fest. Epic meet and greets, photo ops, autograph sessions, immersive WWE activations that you've got to see to believe. I'm sure you'll be able to create an entrance. I'm sure you'll be able to do a ton of stuff. There's going to be podcast tapings. There's going to be panel talks, there's going to be collectibles, there's going to be box breaks and pack rips and everything galore. You got to be there. June 20th through the 22nd at the Jacob Javits center in New York City. We're a month away, basically. We're a month. We are a month away. That came quick. We are a month away from Fanatics Fest. We keep hearing about this going like we got time. We Got time. We don't got time. We're a month away. It's going down. You're going to want to be there. It was awesome last year. It looks so much bigger this year. Unbelievable. Before we get to Saturday night's main event, let's also mention the other Money in the bank qualifier. We spent all that time on Roxanne Perez. We didn't even mention that. Joining Alexa Bliss and Roxanne in the Money in the bank match, Rhea Ripley, like, that threw me for a loop because I always go, like I look at, I. Part of me wants to wonders, is it kind of going to be a themed Money in the bank ladder match? Right? Like, is it going to be like all. All kind of newcomers, all up and comers, and then, boom, Mommy shows up. Rhea Ripley wins the qualifier. Zoe Stark, who we all hope is okay or as close to okay as humanly possible, took a nasty, nasty bump. Hope that. That she gets better as quickly as humanly possible because you hate to see any of that stuff in any context. But she gets taken out of the match. It's down to Rhea Ripley and Kyrie Sane making a return to Monday Night Raw. These two tore the house down. Rhea Ripley comes out on top, as mommy usually is, and she goes in to the Money in the bank ladder match. And this, to me felt like one of those, like, where the whole landscape for what this is changes. I think that when. If Alexa Bliss wins money in the bank, it's almost like, oh, there's still a lot of mystery as to what Alexa Bliss is up to. If Roxanne Perez wins money in the bank, it's almost like, oh, this one gets skyrocketed. Now she's going to make the call for almost like Tiffany Stratton.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
Similar scenario if Rhea Ripley wins the Money in the bank ladder match.
Sam
We know what she's after.
Ross
Yeah. Yes. But it's. The difference is that when Rhea Ripley wins the Money in the bank ladder match, unlike anyone else, it puts the champion on notice. It makes it so whoever is holding a women's championship, and all due respect to everybody on the roster, whoever is holding a championship is going, please don't let it be me. Please don't let it be me. Please don't let it be me.
Sam
You're having nightmares every single night of I eat, sleep, entrance music. Yeah, right.
Ross
Yeah. Night terrors, for sure. Yes, for sure. And it's hard to take any type of match, Money in the bank ladder match or otherwise, that Rio wouldn't win. Right.
Sam
Oh, what A terrible feeling, right, to be defending your title and knowing that that music could hit at any moment.
Ross
Please don't let that music hit. Please don't let that music.
Sam
And you're done.
Ross
Yeah, you're just watching the other champion wrestle, hoping that Rhea cashes in on her so you don't have to worry about it anymore.
Sam
Right?
Ross
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Sam
It is.
Ross
Okay, so we've got our four matches announced, I guess. Let's start. Let's start with the battle of the man who claims to be fighting his childhood hero, which, by the way, John Cena did a convention over the weekend or something like that, but I saw a clip of him and somebody in the crowd asked about, you know, why would you Put your childhood, somebody, the person who considers you his childhood hero, through a table. And John Cena, rightfully so. And I won't defend John Cena very often. He's trying to ruin wrestling. I don't like it. But he did say what in this. How in the space time continuum could I be R. Truth, childhood hero?
Sam
I don't know. I think Truth and Dom are gonna have to get together and figure out time zones.
Ross
Okay. Yeah.
Sam
It seems to be a bit of an issue for both of them, but JD could help. This is not the John Cena that R. Truth knows. This is not the John Cena that I know or that you know or that anybody in the WWE Universe knows.
Ross
Listen, I love R. Truth. Love him. Not like love. There's no way he's even close to beating John Cena at Saturday night's main event. It's not gonna happen. And especially because John Cena has become such a mean human being. A terrible guy. Like, he's gonna not only do it, he's gonna enjoy it, you know? John Cena and R. Truth wrestled in a main event for the WWE Championship in the past. It was at an event called Capital Punishment. It was many, many years ago. John Cena won that match, and he was a good guy. John Cena then.
Sam
Well, I don't like this John Cena at all.
Ross
No.
Sam
And when. When he destroys Truth, I'm going to hate him even more.
Ross
Wow.
Sam
Because Truth is ours.
Ross
Wow.
Sam
He belongs to us.
Ross
I can't wait to hear your opinion on that when it clearly will happen. How about this one, though? On Smackdown, Damian Priest says, we need to finish this in a cage. Drew McIntyre says, I'm the only thing keeping you relevant. Damian Priest, I would love to fight you in a steel cage. The best. All he needs is five minutes and a microphone. He's like Nas. All he needs is one mic and instantly ruins people. So once he's in a cage, though, it's no mics, it's fisticuffs, it's battle.
Sam
And it's not only, you know, just his skills on the mic, but we all saw that nasty bump that he took.
Ross
Oh, and he's back. He's like, yeah, this bump that he takes, right? He hits his head on the concrete. Everybody's like, geez, I hope he's okay. He's like, I don't know if we're.
Sam
Gonna see him for a little while.
Ross
How about two weeks? We'll get in a cage. Like, what?
Sam
Okay, Drew, sign me up. I want it. I want all of it injected into my veins.
Ross
That said, I'll take Drew McIntyre. Drew McIntyre's your pick.
Sam
Yeah.
Ross
Yeah.
Sam
Can't go against him now.
Ross
No, no. But if he's a little more banged up than he's letting on and Priest needs it, it's not, it's gonna be. He's gonna have to go through hell again. Regardless whether he wins or loses. Both these guys are going through hell. I'm probably gonna go with you on the Drew McIntyre pick, but, man, I, I, it would be a moment if Damian Priest got it.
Sam
Yeah, it would.
Ross
It would be a major moment. Okay. We get to see Bron Breaker and Seth Rollins as a team for the first time taking on CM Punk and Sami Zayn. Who do we have?
Sam
I'm going to go with Seth Rollins and Brown Breaker.
Ross
Wow. Too much power.
Sam
A lot of power. And then they have Paul Heyman by their side.
Ross
They do have Paul Heyman by their side.
Sam
We saw how instrumental Paul Heyman was tonight on Raw.
Ross
He was extremely instrumental. Here's the X factor for me. Sami Zayn. There is just something so frustratingly unbeatable about Sami Zayn. There has never been a superstar that keeps getting up more than Sami Zayn. I have watched so many people get driven to the point of insanity because Sami Zayn just won't stay down. That's how he beat Gunther. Just stay down. No. Not going to do it. I feel like we're going to see that version of Sami Zayn come out and he's going to sneak one by Braun Breaker.
Sam
I love it.
Ross
I think Sami Zayn and CM Punk win that match and then then world heavyweight title is on the line. Jay USO versus Logan Paul. I do wonder the logic in Jay uso. I know he wants to prove to everybody how tough he is, but like the logic in Jay accepting a non title match with Bron Breaker five days before Saturday night's main event. Don't know that. Don't know why. However, regardless, Logan Paul, Jay uso. Logan Paul has knocked out Jay uso, I want to say three times. Yes, three times from the crowd in the locker room. Now, all three times have been the most sneaky of sneak attacks that you've ever seen in your life. But they have knocked out Jey uso. People have been saying for a long time, Logan Paul is going to be the world champion. He's going to win the world heavyweight title in the future. Logan Paul will be the world heavyweight champion. Is Saturday inevitable?
Sam
There's a part of me and this is just getting out all my feelings is a part of me that says, there's no way that Jay USO can lose the World Heavyweight Championship. Especially this version of Jay.
Ross
Right?
Sam
As confident as he is, he's walking the walk. He shows that he belongs. But then I think Logan Paul is looking to make a statement, right? There's been all of these little, little things going on. Whether it's Triple H saying at the press conference that he doesn't believe that Logan Paul is a celebrity superstar anymore.
Ross
Just a straight wrestler.
Sam
He's just a straight up wrestler. And what a statement it would be on national television.
Ross
Look, let's not put.
Sam
Honestly, I don't like it.
Ross
They don't put the energy out there. You know what both our prediction is? We're gonna say, I'm gonna. Instead of saying, Jay uso, I'm gonna do one word is four letters. And that's where we're leaving. Okay? We can't. Don't even go down that ugly, ugly, ugly road. Let's not do that. Let's not do that to the audience. Let's not do that for each other, Okay? I don't want to go to bed with that on my conscience.
Sam
I'm glad that you did. The Kofi would be like, we really have Meg doing that?
Ross
Yeah, that's tr. He would have. He would have commented something ugly on Instagram. It wouldn't have been necessary at all. But that's Kofi, you know, that's the Kofi that we deal with now. Well, Kofi's gonna have his hands full next week on Raw, the New Day Triple Threat Tag Team match. We've got Tazawa and Rusev. We've got Men's Money in the bank qualifiers so much the whole WWE landscape could be changed by the next time that we meet here on Raw Recap. But regardless, we will be here. I hope you will, too. Don't forget to subscribe across all audio platforms, interact with the YouTube video if that's where you're watching it, and we will see you next week right here on the Raw recap.
Date: May 20, 2025
This episode dives deep into the chaos surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight Title picture, recaps the week’s Monday Night Raw, explores shifting alliances and rivalries, and features an engaging interview with NBA star and noted WWE superfan Tyrese Haliburton. Tyrese discusses his love for wrestling, crossovers between sports and entertainment, and makes his official pick for the upcoming Jey Uso vs. Logan Paul title match at Saturday Night’s Main Event (SNME). Sam and Megan also break down key matches, Money in the Bank qualifiers, and speculate wildly about future WWE stories.
Segment Start: [20:12]
Mental State Before NBA Finals:
Tyrese shares how WWE and video games provide a necessary escape from the ever-present game pressure.
Tyrese: "It's important for my mental that I get a little bit of a release. If I'm sitting there, basketball, basketball, basketball, I feel like my mind will get overwhelmed." (22:05)
Comparing Sports Rivalries to WWE:
On playing the "heel" in New York and the Pacers-Knicks rivalry:
Tyrese: "I view basketball as that sometimes—when I play at home, I'm more of a face. I'm on the road, I'm a heel." (24:42)
Entrance Music and Pregame Vibes:
Favorite WWE pump-up themes?
Tyrese: “It's probably Mark Henry, because that makes me... Like, somebody’s gonna get their ass kicked.” (29:41)
On Jey Uso as Champion:
Tyrese: “It's amazing to see him doing what he's doing... My heart tells me that I'm with Jey Uso.” (31:51)
Shoe Collaborations and WWE:
Tyrese has worn "DX" and "Undertaker"-inspired Pumas in NBA games—including hitting a game-winner in them, to Triple H’s delight.
Fan Energy and the NY Crowd:
Tyrese congratulates both Knicks and Pacers fans, noting the thrill of participating in a storied rivalry:
Tyrese: "It's an exciting time to be a basketball fan... and a Pacers fan. So looking forward to it." (34:23)
WWE Merchandise & Jorts:
Both Tyrese and Jalen got WWE Shop shirts after their Smackdown segment. Tyrese leaned fully into the Stone Cold Steve Austin aesthetic ("I was like, I'm wearing black boots. I'm wearing the jorts. I couldn't find any knee braces..."). (36:04)
Ultimate Fan Moment—Childhood Title Belt:
Tyrese reveals a cherished, battered childhood WWE toy belt, still Sharpie-labeled with his name, he hopes to have signed by John Cena one day:
Tyrese: "If I get anything signed, it'll be this by John himself." (38:46)
Ross (on the title scene):
"It's a wild puzzle to figure out. It's a Rubik's Cube. I'm just spinning sides... I got green. Yes. I got one side. The other sides are a mess. I gotta screw up my green to get the other sides." (15:15)
Tyrese Haliburton (on crowed heat):
"I'm fully understanding that we are going into the Garden and I am a full heel. There's no play in the middle. There's none of that. I am the heel, and I'm leaning into it." (23:42)
Tyrese Haliburton (on his go-to WWE theme):
"That's the song that makes me feel the most. Like, okay, like, let's... Like, somebody's gonna get their ass kicked." (29:39; referencing Mark Henry’s theme)
Tyrese Haliburton (on his dream WWE autograph):
"My dad recently found my childhood toy belt that I wrote my name on the bottom. If I get anything signed, it'll be this by John himself." (38:46)
Ross: "When Rhea Ripley wins the Money in the Bank ladder match, unlike anyone else, it puts the champion on notice." (60:28)
Mixing intense wrestling analysis with humor and fan banter, the hosts keep the tone conversational, passionate, and sometimes self-deprecating. Tyrese Haliburton blends seamless NBA-WWE crossover energy with genuine wrestling fandom, providing a unique perspective on sports, competition, and public persona. The episode is loaded with playful barbs, authentic admiration for WWE superstars, insider buzz, and deep speculation on where WWE stories may go next.
If you missed the show, this episode covers all the major headlines and passionate opinions from Monday Night Raw, plus a top-tier fan interview with Tyrese Haliburton that any NBA or wrestling fan will appreciate. The breakdown of SNME’s card and candid conversation about what it means to be a fan—whether on the court or in the ring—make this episode both informative and thoroughly entertaining.
Notable Quotes Reference
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(Essential for WWE and NBA crossover fans, with an excellent blend of storyline speculation and genuine fan insights.)