Loading summary
Transcript381 lines
- [00:01]
A
AJ Lee is back wrestling. Cody Rhods walks out. The WWE champion. John Cena barely walks out. Braun Breaker, Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed on this show. Stephanie Vier on this show. This is the Wrestle Palooza recap. A WWE and Fanatics original production. Oh, Megan, Megan, Megan. We meet again here in Indianapolis. I mean, literally feet away, there's one wall that separates us from the arena. We're here in the lovely club Russell Palooza.
- [00:43]
B
Because that's what we're calling it, the Club Russell Palooza.
- [00:46]
A
Yeah. I hang out in cool nightclubs and I watch wrestling. And you hang out in cool nightclubs and you watch wrestling. So this is where we're at. You hear a lot of activity. Everybody is just filing out here in Indy.
- [00:57]
B
Well, there's a lot of excitement.
- [00:58]
A
A lot of excitement. Not only. And it was a buzz all day long. WWE doing their first ple on espn. A huge deal. We saw this amazing video to open the show.
- [01:11]
B
I loved it.
- [01:12]
A
Comparing the, the way espn, as an underdog grew to truly be this worldwide leader and WWE the same way as this underdog grew to truly be this worldwide leader. And to see these, these paths finally meet, it feels like a no brainer. It feels like a long time coming. But it also feels like I can't believe it's actually happening.
- [01:32]
B
Yeah. And I love the tagline sports is.
- [01:35]
A
Entertainment because always has been, always will be.
- [01:40]
B
And what it is about that entertainment is the fact that it makes us all feel.
- [01:44]
A
That's right.
- [01:44]
B
And I felt a lot out there tonight.
- [01:46]
A
Oh, what a segue this professional Megan Morant is. We felt good leaving the show. Well, did we feel good? Okay, let's, let's break this down. Cody Rhodes.
- [01:55]
B
There were a few moments where I was kind of teetering.
- [01:58]
A
I mean, listen, when anybody gets Alabama slammed onto the steel stairs, you're going to teeter. It was nuts. And I mean, Drew, I'm sitting here when he's winding up for that dive, I thought he was going to do like a tope suicida through the ropes or something like that and go like, why is this guy diving when he leaps like he's Montez Ford clearing the top rope, flipping in midair and landing on Cody Rhodes. I go, what are we seeing?
- [02:26]
B
That flip caught me totally by surprise.
- [02:29]
A
Yes.
- [02:30]
B
I legitimately yelled, standing right next to you.
- [02:33]
A
We Both went, oh, 6, 5, 2, 80. We, I mean, shoulders like boulders. I mean this, the fact that he's doing that is insane. But, but at the end of the day, the good guy wins. We Feel great. Cody the WWE Champion. And, you know, I was arguing about this with the Miz on the Road to Wrestle Palooza.
- [02:56]
B
You and the Miz argue?
- [02:58]
C
Yeah.
- [02:58]
A
Can you imagine? We can't be in each other's presence at all without bickering. But we argue about this because we were on the Road to Wrestle Palooza special that ESPN did, and I was sitting there trying to get across because every time there's a Cody Rhodes match like this, there is a section of the audience and the Miz was representing that section going, no, no, no, Cody's great. Cody's still gonna be the man. Don't worry about it. But this guy should win the title. But this guy. It's like, when is Cody. You know, I'm watching Cody's podcast, and his guest is Bruce Prichard, and they're having this really great conversation, not only about Cody getting signed, but about the backstage conversations that Cody has. And it is so obvious, watching that podcast, that Cody's desire. It's not just about the championship. Cody wants to be the face. Cody wants to be the man. Cody wants this conversation out the window. He wants there to be no debate as to who the man was. The same way when John Cena was the guy, there was no question. It was everybody, and it was John Cena.
- [04:07]
B
And you could sense some of the frustration in Cody during that interview when Bruce Pritchard was talking about his nephew, saying Roman Reigns was his favorite.
- [04:14]
A
That's exactly right. And Cody has to deal with Roman Reigns, right? And that's the whole story about The Road to WrestleMania 40. It's like, yeah, no, Cody's the man. Roman Reigns. No, no, Cody's the man. But, okay, fine, I beat Roman Reigns, I get the title. What happens? No, no, Cody's the man, but John Cena's back. No, no, no. Cody's the man, but John Cena's back. Cody finally has to go. He beats John Cena to get his title back. And now it's like, Cody doesn't need the title. Cody should have the title. Cody is the man. Cody is the face of the company. But there's just something about people that feel the need to doubt this guy. And I wonder if it plagues Cody at all, because there are little things that Cody does right? That I feel like those little things are popping up more and more, you know, the same way you. When we saw that match with Kevin Owens way back when, and Kevin wouldn't go after Cody's knee because Cody was. Kevin was doing the right thing. It cost him the title. And we see these instances. We saw it at WrestleMania 40 I I 41. I think Cody learned more at WrestleMania 41 than we even realized. When he hesitated, he didn't hit John Cena with the title. That's the one time that he lost that title. There were a couple of times in this match, the first one, and we both went, oh, my God. The same thing that happened with Randy. The turnbuckle exposed by Drew. Drew exposed it. Cody takes advantage of it and we're going, oh, my God, oh, my goodness.
- [05:50]
B
But Drew kicks out, which was exactly what happened. In a different scenario. We saw Randy earlier in the match not punt Cody Rhodes. Randy then exposes the turnbuckle. Cody uses it to win.
- [06:01]
A
But Randy exposed it.
- [06:02]
B
That's right.
- [06:03]
A
So it's like that seat of doubt is still there. It was this other moment. It was this other moment. And I get it, by the way, Cody and Drew are not friends. The complete opposite, as a matter of fact. There's no reason Drew McIntyre, I don't know if you heard, kicked Cody Rhodes head through a table and wanted to.
- [06:21]
B
Do it again tonight badly.
- [06:22]
A
So badly. Cody knew. Cody baited him into being like, oh, my head's right by this table. I bet you really want to kick my head through this table.
- [06:31]
B
And Drew's foaming at the mouth.
- [06:33]
A
I do. I really want to kick your head through this table. And Cody's sitting there and I am watching going like, are we really to believe that Cody is just sitting here prone for all this time with his head? Like, if I was Cody, I'd be like, let me avoid having my head anywhere near.
- [06:51]
B
Took him out of action for a few weeks.
- [06:52]
A
Right long and yes, yes. But then we realized Cody was baiting Drew. Cody was playing the psychological game. Cody moves because he knows this. Drew ends up putting his own foot through the table. It was Drew's knee going out on him. That was what ended this match for Drew McIntyre. Cody takes advantage of him and ends up with the Cody cutter into crossroads. 1, 2, 3. Cody is still your WWE Champion, but he did. And it. He didn't break any rules.
- [07:23]
B
No, he didn't.
- [07:25]
A
But the way that he played Drew and played with Drew's vulnerabilities. It's not to say Drew didn't deserve it, but there is something that's a little less shiny and nice about the way Cody won this match than the way historically he has won matches.
- [07:43]
B
I don't mean this literally because he did win clean, but it wasn't as clean Cut of a Cody match, as we're used to seeing.
- [07:50]
A
Clean cut.
- [07:51]
B
That's right.
- [07:51]
A
That's the difference. There's that little edge to Cody. And you start to go. Right. Because, I mean, we talked about. We talked about Jay USO on Raw. Recap. We'll talk about him here. But, like, when you see those cracks in Jay, I talked to you about the fact that I think that there are a lot of times where that World Heavyweight Championship and the. Not only the pressure that comes with it, but the reward in real life that comes with being the guy can also corrupt people. And so you get to a point where it's like, does Cody want to be the guy? And this is something that. Does Cody want to be the guy because he's earned it and he is clearly the guy, or is Cody gonna stop at nothing, and I mean nothing to be the guy? And I just prove it. I just read so far into these things, you know, that I do.
- [08:48]
B
You're a deep guy.
- [08:49]
A
And I may be reading too much into it.
- [08:51]
B
Usually are.
- [08:52]
A
But, I mean, it's happened before. I can't call you, can't sue you for slander. But I am saying that it's like if you're willing to kind of bait your opponent like that, if you're willing to take advantage of an opponent's wounded knee. Now, he should be doing that as champion. He made a mistake at WrestleMania 41. That's exactly what he should be doing. But it's just maybe not the same Cody that we've seen in the past, in my opinion.
- [09:20]
B
Yeah. And I think that's been building for a little while. I think we started to see signs of it in that match against Randy Orton. That was the first time I said, oh, this is different. Cody wouldn't go there at WrestleMania. And to see him continue to have to go there, to me shows it. Not saying he wouldn't win without going there. Right.
- [09:40]
A
Because that's the other thing. Does he have to go there?
- [09:42]
B
But he's not as naive as he maybe once was.
- [09:46]
A
That's a good word for him.
- [09:47]
B
And maybe because I'm not, like, doubting Cody's ability, like, I think he can win without going there. We've seen him do it.
- [09:55]
A
But the fact that he will go there to ensure that he wins is a different side. And that's exactly what I'm talking about. Because I think you're right. I don't think he needs it. But I think that it is an insurance policy. And when you're using insurance, I'M just gonna be. I'm just watching him. I'm watching him because I love Cody and I love good guy Cody. I love cheering for Cody, I love singing the song. And then you look at Cody, right? And you go, as the match is happening, I go, oh, I'm seeing some edge here. And then he has the world championship and he has the microphone and he's talking about doing this show for ESPN in the United States, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and everybody's cheering him and it's like, yeah, like, you know how good guys like that keep them. You don't ever just turn for the sake of turning. So it's a huge dichotomy. I think the same of Jey uso. When I start seeing things that I go, I don't know about that behavior with Jey uso, but then you listen to the crowd and they yeet along. It's incredible. I am very eager to HEAR How Drew McIntyre responds to this because the idea that this guy, who is this absolutely methodical wrestler who lives in his head, made mistakes and it cost him the match, like, it's one thing to just be like, well, Cody was the better man tonight and he was. It's another thing to be like, here are things that I did wrong and I shouldn't have done that.
- [11:26]
B
And Drew's an honest guy, we know that about Drew McIntyre.
- [11:29]
A
He considers himself an honest guy. I think sometimes the way he looks at things might be a little skewed, but it's never false.
- [11:35]
B
It's not false. There was a moment in the match between Cody and Drew where I said I would love to see Drew as champion. Was it the stop me in my tracks?
- [11:47]
A
The claymore. Yes, for the claymore.
- [11:48]
B
The near fall on Cody Rhodes. There was one, two near fall. And I had a moment where I said, wow, I would really like to see Drew McIntyre's champion someday.
- [12:00]
A
Someday. And who knows, who knows when that day will come? I'll tell you. Did you go, you know, we're here in Andy backstage here. We're going to have a few guests here on the show in just a little bit. But before we get there, did you get a chance to go to the Russell Palooza Superstore?
- [12:14]
B
I heard you checked it out.
- [12:15]
A
Well, of course I did. I was there just this morning. A ton of merchandise. If you're not out here in Indy or you didn't have a chance to go, of course you can go to WWE shop, you can go to Fanatics. We've got John Cena, who we're about to talk about continuing his farewell tour. You can grab the Russell Paloa collection that he wore tonight right now on WWE Shop and Fanatics. I'm talking about the tees, the hats, the sweatbands, the towels, and more last time in Indianapolis. You can celebrate that on WWE Shop. Stephanie Vacara, who will be on the show, a new champion, a new women's world champion. You could celebrate her victory with the new winner's tee on WWE Shop and Fanatics. And of course, this is a historic night. Russell Palooza. Not only is this brand back and for the first time in wwe, but it's the first ever WWE ple on espn. A massive, massive deal. You can grab all the official Wrestle Wrestle Palooza event merchandise that you need and superstar gear from the big night at WWE Shop and Fanatics. So go check it out. If you like it, pick it up. But let's talk about John Cena. I mean, you knew, I knew. We talked about it. We talked about it with Big E.
- [13:26]
B
When we did this preview show, you.
- [13:27]
A
Called this, but I didn't want to. I said it was a possibility. I love scenarios. Here's my thing. You ask me, what do you think is gonna happen? I go, here are the scenarios that could happen, because I love scenarios. And this was one of the scenarios that I thought could happen. As a matter of fact, I was surprised at how many people online, when I was looking at Twitter, replies were like, what was that?
- [13:48]
B
A lot of people seemed very upset.
- [13:49]
A
And I go, and I get it, because it sucked the life out of the room. But I go, you have to know that that's a possibility. You have to expect it when you're going on this John Cena farewell tour. And John Cena in his last handful of matches has been tributing all of his great rivals and has been. Has been allowing us to kind of go back in time. Not just the people that he's in the ring with, but through their match with other opponents that John Cena has had great matches with. But one of the biggest John Cena matches ever, and probably not one that a John Cena fan would want to revisit. But one of the most noteworthy matches ever was that SummerSlam after WrestleMania 30 was when Brock Lesnar took him to Suplex City for the first time. And what was so interesting to me is the response to that match all the way back. I mean, it was 10 years ago, I think, maybe 11 years. I think it was summer, said 2014 or something like that. Yeah, it would be. Yeah. Because that was WrestleMania 30. So yeah, it was 11 years ago. The exact same response, the exact same response of people looking at that match going, what was that? Because it makes you feel bad. And they looked at tonight and said, what was that? And I mean, I'll tell you what it was. It was Brock showing the world what Brock and only Brock can do. Go in destroy moments, make you believe that he is capable of destroying the moment that he just destroyed. And then leaving children crying. Of all matches for John Cena to come to the ring with all those kids, the Brock match is not the one to do it with.
- [15:35]
B
No, John Cena is for the children. We know that about John Cena.
- [15:39]
A
Of course we do.
- [15:39]
B
But you brought up this SummerSlam match on our last podcast. And I spent some time this week watching that match. And then I'm watching Friday night Smackdown. We see what happens right off the top of the show. Corey Graves eats two F5s. Michael Cole is all shook up and he's like.
- [15:54]
A
And I think it broke every bone in Corey Graves body. It might have limp by the time he fell.
- [15:57]
B
Have you checked in on him?
- [15:59]
A
I should have. Probably should have hit him with a text. Yeah, that was.
- [16:01]
B
I actually didn't either. Oh, shoot. Well, anyways, Michael Cole all chicken up and he's talking about that SummerSlam match.
- [16:11]
A
By the way, the Miz had no sympathy for Michael Cole at all. Hey, Michael, why don't you have more energy? It's like, come on, Miz. He's kind of almost destroyed by Brock Lesnar.
- [16:19]
B
And then watched his colleague get completely dismayed. Anyways, Cole is talking about that SummerSlam match and it really stuck out to me because he says, you know, that was when John Cena was in his prime. And I think, you know, I think Brock Lesnar wakes up every single day still in his prime despite as many years that have passed. And from the minute we saw his music hit, we saw him enter, I was terrified for John Cena.
- [16:49]
A
Yeah. And that's crazy to say because John Cena not only, you know, you talk about John Cena's prime number one, he's John Cena, the never seen 17, greatest of all time, but also having some of the best matches that he's ever had right now. But I mean, look, what's the word that we used with Big E to describe what that match was like? Uncomfortable. How did you feel when Brock. I mean, because this time it wasn't like. Yeah, it was Suplex City. Suplex after, Suplex after.
- [17:18]
B
Well, you said Suplex City.
- [17:20]
A
And he used the B word, but pluralized. But then it was F5 City. It was F5 after F5.
- [17:29]
B
F5s. Five or six F5s.
- [17:31]
A
And then he just pins John Cena. One, two, three, ring the bell. It was uncomfortable.
- [17:37]
B
John Cena did get, what, three attitude adjustments in.
- [17:39]
A
In a row. Give us a little hope in a.
- [17:42]
B
Row, only for Brock to completely crush our souls.
- [17:45]
A
Brock didn't even. Brock stood up after the first two. Didn't even keep him down. Third one kept him down. One, two, kick out. Oh, no. That's what you say. Oh, no. And I mean, I'll tell you how. How. How real it felt. The audience was chanting, thank you, Cena. He still got five more appearances. Thank you, Cena is for the last appearance. It's almost like, okay, we were all having a good time, but Brock has proven this good time is not for us anymore. Thanks, John. Way to ride off into the sunset. Like, you're look. You're not looking at John going, ah, I wonder what's next? But something is next. There are still five more appearances. This is the last time John's in Indy. This ain't the. It's not. We're not at the end of the year yet.
- [18:28]
B
We're not. Well, speaking of what's next, what do you think's next for Brock Lesnar?
- [18:32]
A
Whatever he wants. I mean, literally whatever he wants. What do you want to go just. He destroyed. First it was R Truth, then it.
- [18:40]
B
Was Corey Graves, and then tonight, John Cena and the referee.
- [18:46]
A
Rudy, the referee.
- [18:48]
B
I know that was unnecessary.
- [18:51]
A
Of course it was unnecessary. But it was also an unnecessary thing that led to something that was unnecessary. He wanted to f5 John Cena again.
- [18:57]
B
Yeah.
- [18:57]
A
Match was already over. It was all unnecessary. But, I mean, listen, I think that that is what makes Brock Lesnar a headline wherever he goes. That is like. That's what beating the Undertaker streak did for Brock Lesnar. That's what that SummerSlam match with John Cena did for Brock Lesnar. That's what beating Kofi Kingston did for Brock Lesnar. That's what winning Biggie's title did for Brock Lesnar. I'm not saying that those are all things that anyone should be happy about. I'm not saying any of those were things that made you feel good as a wrestling fan. But what I am saying is that. That Brock Lesnar is the only person in wwe, that it doesn't matter what the match is if he's on the other side of the graphic. There's a better than 50% chance that he's going to win every single time. And there's nobody else like that. And sometimes we forget that. And even when it's John Cena's retirement tour, and even when we're all wearing yellow, everybody was wearing John Cena shirts in Indy. Everybody was wearing yellow. All his kids were in yellow. John Cena's wearing yellow. I got that yellow T shirt, and I don't even wear yellow like that.
- [20:12]
B
Yellow is not your color either.
- [20:14]
A
Well, thank you, but that's neither here nor there. Not necessary. But the point is that, like, we all forgot. Even when I'm. I. I said it, and I still forgot. I was talking to Craig today. He was like, who do you think's going to win?
- [20:30]
B
Is that Cena?
- [20:31]
A
I said, john Cena.
- [20:31]
B
He said, Cena.
- [20:32]
A
I said, John Cena. And then we're going to go and have more success with John Cena. And then Brock comes in and he goes, why would you say that? Why would you even say that?
- [20:40]
B
It's wild. Because, like, you know, we think retirement tour. That doesn't mean winning tour.
- [20:45]
A
No, no. Especially when Brock Lesnar's around. We still don't exactly know. And we were talking about this why Brock has decided to just ruin this, other than maybe it's just the fact that he can. And also. And maybe we will talk about this more tomorrow on Raw. Recap. How is there a new connection with Paul Heyman? How is it we should.
- [21:07]
B
Do you think?
- [21:07]
A
When. When Brock said we should talk, it was just like, hey, I'd like you to do my announcements.
- [21:14]
B
That would be very. Oh, my goodness. My larynx is going. Paul Heyman took my larynx.
- [21:21]
A
Heard you got your larynx backs. Would you. Would you just do my announcements for me? I don't think that that's where Paul Heyman skill set ends.
- [21:28]
B
It is amazing. And this is a story that we haven't given enough energy to. The fact that Paul Heyman breathe like me. Had a larynx problem.
- [21:37]
A
Tell you who Brock's not falling for.
- [21:40]
B
Geez. Paul Heyman has a larynx problem. Comes back, Does Brock's entrance. New larynx. I mean, wouldn't even note it. But it's a new larynx, I think. So it has to be, right?
- [21:56]
A
No, he's got a new larynx. I didn't know that that was.
- [21:59]
B
I talked to him earlier.
- [22:00]
A
Did you give him yours? Is that why you can't talk?
- [22:02]
B
That's exactly why I can't talk right now. You might have taken it. But Paul Heyman and Brock.
- [22:10]
C
Brock.
- [22:13]
B
That'S why I don't do the entrances. That's why we have Alicia Taylor and Paul Heyman.
- [22:17]
A
She's fantastic.
- [22:18]
B
But it couldn't have been just about doing the entrance. We got all of the history that Brock and Paul have.
- [22:25]
A
There's so much couldn't have been. I do want to talk to you about Tops Now. Lots of moments tonight. You know I love bringing up Tops Now. Have a little drink of water for yourself.
- [22:35]
B
Thank you.
- [22:36]
A
You know, I love love Tops. I love Tops Now. I love that we get these moments at these big shows. And Topps now puts out these cards. Very limited time. I just ordered my Dominic Mysterio winning the Triple A Mega Championship card. That's not available anymore, but I got it while it was still up. Wow. Tops now captures major milestones and viral moments from the biggest events like AJ Lee's return, which skyrocketed, by the way, to the number three best selling Tops Now WWE card ever. Which is amazing because this year has been full of moments. They always do. Before Ples Topps put out a Russell Palooza poster card featuring John Cena and Brock Lesnar. Collectors who buy the base card are going to have the chance to receive rainbow foil short prints or even gold super short prints. Limited to 25 copies, but this card's only available until Monday at 3pm Eastern. As always, make sure you're following @tops on social media and sign up for notifications on tops.com for the big moment cards from Russell Palooza and tune into the Raw recap podcast. I know that podcast. For more info and card graphics, I hope I, I, I'm gonna have to get the Brock. If the Brock gets a Tops now.
- [23:51]
B
Card, you're getting it.
- [23:52]
A
I gotta get it.
- [23:53]
B
My larynx is back.
- [23:55]
A
Well, I'm glad your larynx is back, but we had a massive tag match.
- [24:01]
B
Yes, we did.
- [24:01]
A
It was the USO's back together for the first time against the Visions, Bronson Reed and Bron Breaker along with Paul Heyman. Now look, we got what I thought was a great scoop. When I found out the guys here said get back to the room immediately after this match. You're getting the winners. And when the Vision won it, I was like, I'm bummed the USO's didn't win, but this is great. We're going to get to talk to Bronson Reed. We're going to get to talk to Bron Breakker. We're going to get going to get to talk to Paul Heyman. I. Then we recorded the interview. You. You can tell it's recorded because you could probably hear the event going on in the background. I had said to the guys, guys, maybe we scrapped this. I didn't like how it turned out.
- [24:46]
B
You didn't?
- [24:47]
A
No, no. I asked the guys to please scrap it. And the guys told me, no, we're not scrapping this interview. It's a big interview, so. And also they said Megan really wants to run it, so I got voted out.
- [25:00]
B
You kind of left me hanging there.
- [25:02]
A
Okay, let's share the interview and let's. I left you.
- [25:07]
B
Oh, you didn't like how it turned out?
- [25:10]
A
I was almost. Here is. For the first time, after beating the USO's Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker alongside Paul Heyman. Megan, help me welcome two men. All right. That had. I mean, here. If you wanna. An incredible night already tonight, along with the guidance. You don't have to, but I appreciate it.
- [25:40]
C
Tell me why. Explain it to me.
- [25:42]
A
Well, we want to recap the show. And we thought Megan.
- [25:46]
C
And I was like, you speak for Megan?
- [25:48]
A
No.
- [25:48]
C
Her spokesperson.
- [25:49]
A
No.
- [25:50]
C
You're her advocate.
- [25:51]
A
No.
- [25:52]
C
You're. You're her special counsel. You're her wise man. Her oracle. Yeah. Pissing him off.
- [25:58]
A
I don't mean to. No, no. You have anything to say? Please.
- [26:02]
C
She pass furniture.
- [26:05]
D
What is this show, huh?
- [26:08]
A
Yeah. What are we doing?
- [26:10]
B
Well, Mr. Heyman, you've had a very busy night. Starting off Russell Palooza with Brock Lesnar and then following it up with A Vision, earning a victory tonight over the USO's.
- [26:23]
D
Damn right.
- [26:26]
A
Ask him a question. He's gonna. How does it feel? I mean, you're coming in in a rage, but it's as successful as I think any three superstars could hope to be on the debut of WWE on espn. When you talk about following a rager.
- [26:49]
C
Reed defeated the most prolific tag team champions in the history of WWE.
- [26:54]
A
That's right.
- [26:55]
C
Usos. Why would I be in a rage?
- [26:59]
A
I don't.
- [27:00]
C
Besides your cheap ass furniture and Megan's cheap ass partner. Tell me, tell me, tell me, Sam. Tell me. Why would I be in a rage? Why?
- [27:11]
A
I would ask you that question. I don't know why. It just. There's a hostility.
- [27:16]
C
Brag about your accomplishments.
- [27:17]
A
Did I feel.
- [27:18]
D
Let him know, Bronco.
- [27:20]
C
Brag about him.
- [27:20]
A
We're the greatest tag team ever. After tonight, we beat the supposed greatest tag team of all time. They didn't beat us. Nope. They were never the greatest tag team of all Time. We are? Yep. Ultimate power.
- [27:34]
C
Total control.
- [27:37]
A
That's it. We own this place. These microphones, all this stuff. We own this entire industry.
- [27:44]
C
Whose microphone is this?
- [27:47]
A
Ours.
- [27:48]
C
Whose bottled water is this?
- [27:51]
D
The thief's.
- [27:52]
C
Whose couch is this?
- [27:54]
D
Division.
- [27:55]
A
You're sitting on my couch.
- [27:57]
C
Whose tag team division is this?
- [28:01]
A
I mean, it's yours.
- [28:02]
C
No, it's not mine.
- [28:04]
A
It's yours. And you absolutely proved it tonight. I mean, not only did you beat them, you beat them with a referee that I would call questionable. It was an absolutely decisive.
- [28:20]
C
Switch.
- [28:21]
A
Are you.
- [28:22]
C
Switch.
- [28:22]
D
I didn't Listen to the men.
- [28:24]
B
Switch.
- [28:25]
D
Switch. Unless you want those. You want them gone. You know, I've seen those Russell fs. I can take them.
- [28:30]
A
I want to.
- [28:31]
D
I know they won't fit me. They're children size.
- [28:33]
A
No, they're not. They're adult.
- [28:34]
B
But I mean, in fairness.
- [28:36]
C
Elaine, I find you beautiful.
- [28:38]
B
Oh, thank you.
- [28:38]
C
I find you a wonderful human being. And I find you to be a fabulously impartial reporter and journalist. Please ask your questions.
- [28:52]
B
Gentlemen, do you feel like tonight you made a statement on ESPN for the first time in WWE history?
- [29:00]
D
Mr. Re statement was made that the Usos. Everyone talks about the Usos, but now it's time for people to be talking about the Bronze, the dog, the Thief. Together we are unstoppable. And we showed it tonight. And we're going to keep showing that. Every single time we go down to that ring, we own it.
- [29:22]
C
Mr. Breaker, excuse me, please. Continue.
- [29:33]
A
Continue.
- [29:51]
D
Not a man to be trifled with. There's a reason he's the dog. There's a reason he's off the leash.
- [29:58]
C
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. I sit here tonight, besides the lovely and talented and most impartial Megan, as the representative of the greatest tag team of all time, Mr. Bronson, Reed, Bron, Breakker. Megan, please continue your interview.
- [30:23]
B
Over the week leading up to Russell Palooza, we noticed some tension between the USO's building. But tonight, when they entered the arena, I mean, they seem completely on the same page. Was there ever a moment before the match began where you look at them working together so cohesively and you think this is the greatest tag team of all time? Maybe we're in trouble.
- [30:48]
C
Scripts.
- [30:48]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Never the hell never. Once we're full of confidence with a Vision. Like I said, each and every member of the Vision is top tier talent. I understand the USO's accomplishments, but like I said, we've been speaking about him for far too long. At yesterday's news. We got the future. Wherever he went, he obviously got angry at. At your broadcast partners. He's gone now. We got the future. And we have, of course, the thief. And we're just going to keep rolling through. Anyone you put in front of us.
- [31:20]
C
To be honest, I'm offended. That had to be a leftover from. What's his name?
- [31:24]
B
Sam.
- [31:24]
C
Sam. Right. Jim Norton. Sam Norton from Jim Norton. Because the question itself, to be blunt, with all due respect to you and all of your many talents, the question was a joke. And the reason why the question was a joke is it goes on the presumption that the USO's were not at 100% tonight, that they weren't on the same page, that somehow the victory by Mr. Bronson Reed and Bron Breaker was not as impactful, was not as impressive as. Not as historic as it could be. Because the USO's weren't on the same. USOs were a hundred percent. In fact, I don't think the USO's have ever been better. Yeah, the USO's at their very best were beaten, victimized and bloodied by Bronson Reed and by Braun Breaker, who simply proved that they are better and greater than the USO's. Not taking anything away from the USO's. Not out here making a fool of myself where the people that I represent by saying the USO's suck. They don't suck.
- [32:26]
D
No, they don't suck.
- [32:27]
C
They are the greatest tag team of all time. Until tonight, when it was proven otherwise. And perhaps one day, way deep into this century, someone will prove to be greater. But for the foreseeable future, I just don't see that happening.
- [32:48]
A
Me either.
- [32:49]
B
Well, Mr. Heyman, I would be remiss if. If I didn't ask you two questions. First of all, what were you doing out there with Brock Lesnar tonight?
- [32:57]
C
Oh, that is a very good question. And here is an answer for you. I was introducing Brock Lesnar.
- [33:05]
D
Yeah.
- [33:06]
C
What did it look like I was doing.
- [33:10]
B
On Monday night? Did you get any phone calls?
- [33:15]
C
Can you be more specific? I got a lot of phone calls. I got a lot of texts. I got a lot of dms.
- [33:19]
D
Yeah, I could poll on Monday night.
- [33:22]
C
Oh, yes. So I'll answer that. Yes, yes, I got many phone calls. One from Bronson Reed. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, is there something more specific that you'd like to know? No, I'm serious. I'm not. You act like I'm busting your chops or that. That I'm. I'm Breathing down your neck or something over here. And I'm being a perfect gentleman with you. What specific phone calls are you asking me about?
- [33:43]
B
It was just on Monday night, Jey USO made a phone call. He told Jimmy not to worry about it, and I couldn't.
- [33:49]
C
And that's the manner in which you asked me, why not just come out and bluntly say, did Jey uso call you on Monday night?
- [33:55]
B
Did Jay USO call you on Monday night?
- [33:58]
C
Why would you ask me such a question like that? Why would you ask me that? Why'd you ask J you? So he made a phone call. He made.
- [34:05]
D
Ask the Yeet man himself.
- [34:17]
C
Come on. How many phone calls you think the man makes in a night? We happen to catch him one time on camera, and it has to be to Paul Heyman. These conspiracy theories are way out of whack. Okay, don't host the show with Jim Norton over there. Host the show with Charlemagne, and just go all the way with the conspiracy theories. Feel like I'm being interviewed by Rosenberg tonight.
- [34:37]
A
Yeah.
- [34:38]
D
Could be worse, right?
- [34:41]
C
Does that make you a better person?
- [34:42]
B
I didn't say that.
- [34:43]
C
Got much more hair than me. That make you a better person?
- [34:47]
B
I didn't say that.
- [34:48]
C
What did you say?
- [34:49]
B
Quite the comparison he had, Rosenberg. Anyways, Brock Lesnar told you last night on Smackdown that he had some things to talk to you about.
- [34:58]
C
Indeed.
- [35:00]
B
Was it just introducing him?
- [35:02]
C
What do you think? I have a fricking death wish. I'm gonna talk about Brock Lesnar's business in public.
- [35:05]
B
That's a good point.
- [35:07]
C
Thank you very much. Oh, that's a good. I like how, you know, that's another thing. Why do people have to sit there and tell me that my answers are good? Like, that's a good point, Mr. Heyman. Like my other answers are not good points. Like everything else I said up to this point was bad, and that one happened to be good.
- [35:25]
A
Good.
- [35:25]
C
Good answer, Paulie. Oh, Paulie got an answer. Good. Thank you, woman with the hair.
- [35:35]
D
Any more questions?
- [35:36]
C
Man Breaker was right. This. This place is too much. Ah, damn. I'm an intellect, damn it, and a WWE hall of Famer. And your questions accuse me of conspiracy theories, and they're very upsetting to me. I'm such a grand night. You know, I came up with the name Wrestle Paloozo, but did you give me any credit about that? No. BROCK Lesnar, the USO's are not on the same page, so they must suck, right? Did Jey USO call you on Monday night? But you just Call me fat, too. Losing weight.
- [36:13]
D
Now you have one member of the Vision left, so you better make your question good, cuz you got one left. The oracle's gone, the dog's gone. Just me.
- [36:23]
A
Oo.
- [36:25]
B
When you saw Jay uso all bloodied and went up to hit the tsunami.
- [36:30]
A
We're good. We're good.
- [36:34]
B
Thank you for the time. Congratulations.
- [36:38]
A
Thank you to Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed and Bron Breaker for joining us for the show, for forcefully removing me from the show, for almost injuring one of our producers. Megan, you did a great job. And I did not leave you hanging, by the way, when Bron Breaker just decided. I don't even think I even asked anything inappropriate. And also, I don't think you asked anything inappropriate. But, like, when Bron Breaker just decided, oh, I want to end Sam Roberts's.
- [37:09]
B
Life, it did look like he was.
- [37:12]
A
That's how he was looking at me. I was like, I don't know what to do here. And then he told me to leave. And then he almost threw a bottle of water through my head.
- [37:21]
B
Yeah, but once you're all in the clear, you just left me out there.
- [37:25]
A
You know I'm not coming back because guess what?
- [37:26]
B
Threat of a tsunami and Paul Heyman, you just left me out there.
- [37:30]
A
You don't think Bronson Reed would have backed up Bron Breaker if I'd walked back on that? I was coming anywhere near that set, I was gone. I went back on the floor. Watch the rest of the show. I'm not needed here anymore. I gotta escape quick.
- [37:41]
B
Well, we both survived. It wasn't easy, but.
- [37:44]
A
No, no, but thank you. Look, it was a massive victory.
- [37:48]
B
It was against the greatest tag team ever.
- [37:52]
A
All of it true. I mean, J uso, Jay uso, I caught what you had getting busted open in that match. I, you know, and I was not saying l. I. La Knight let everything go. Like, La Knight just allowed tables. He allowed chairs. He allowed pretty early on.
- [38:11]
B
At one point he saw the chair and said, you know what? Screw it.
- [38:14]
A
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I guess La Knight's not a narc, so, you know, he's just going to let it. He's going to let it go. But maybe that's what Adam Pierce wanted.
- [38:21]
B
Maybe there were a couple moments where it looks like La Knight, you know, got. Got a little. A little too close to comfort.
- [38:28]
A
Well, you are. Yeah. All the moments that Jay uso almost hit him with stuff.
- [38:31]
B
Yeah.
- [38:31]
A
Jay uso stopped himself. But there were. I mean, if I'm La Knight, I'm like, okay, but this Is like the third time it's happened in this match. How do I know you're not doing it on purpose? So I definitely don't think that that J uso La Knight story is over at all. And, you know, and again, this was something that I talked about with the Miz on the road to Wrestlepalooza. That, like, as fun as it is to see the USO's back together, are they focused on the tag team or they focus. Are they, like, really kind of focused on their individual careers and just coming back together? Because it feels normal. Because I'll tell you, you know, Bron Breaker and Bronson Reed focused on their mission as a team.
- [39:12]
B
Yeah. And the entrance was so much fun. Right. Everybody has their phones up and everybody's.
- [39:18]
A
Eating and hearing the old song.
- [39:20]
B
Yeah. It was day one. Ish.
- [39:22]
A
Right.
- [39:23]
B
And then we go to the new song.
- [39:25]
A
It's not Paranoia, it's the uso. I'm glad you put some stank on that.
- [39:31]
B
But there's. It's a great song. Great song.
- [39:33]
A
That's what I meant.
- [39:34]
B
We see them. We have this scene where you're yeeting, I'm yeeting. We're out there in the audience. I mean, Sam, you spent a whole week on multiple platforms, multiple podcasts, dissecting the psychology that's going into Jey USO because he's dealing with trauma. When you see Jey USO up there with his brother Jimmy having a great old time, is there part of you that goes, am I crazy? Because I was like, Sam told me a trauma. This does not look like trauma.
- [40:02]
A
It goes right back to what I was saying at the beginning of this show.
- [40:04]
B
Yeah.
- [40:05]
A
When I go, like, I don't care about any of it. I don't care about the tension. I don't care about the trauma. If you just go ahead and tell me. I mean, you asked Paul Heyman about the phone. You asked for, like, if you go back and you tell me all this stuff about the phone. Doesn't matter. Jimmy's comments. And Miz had a good point when he said, sometimes when brothers talk to each other, to an outsider, it sounds more severe.
- [40:25]
B
That's true.
- [40:26]
A
Because they cut through the fat because they're brothers. And I go, okay, if you just tell me everything's fine. The last thing in the world that I want to do is add any tension to Jay uso because he's a party.
- [40:35]
B
But it's not fine because that's the greatest tag team of all time. And they just lost.
- [40:40]
A
No, you're right. You're right. Well, we'll see where it goes. I'm very, very excited because we were talking about tops earlier when I was dying. Huh?
- [40:48]
B
When I was dying.
- [40:49]
A
You were, unfortunately, yeah. But you, you kicked out. You kicked out at two and three quarters and I was happy about that. But speaking of coming back like you came back from the dead. Tops. Finest is back finally. Finest. WWE is coming back to the hobby on September 26th. You know all about Finest. I've been telling you about it. It's a high energy tribute to sports entertainment built for collectors who crave vibrant designs, premium tech and chase worthy polls. It's all about the chase. Every box delivers a thrilling mix of content. Two autographs, two autos per box. A full spectrum of base and parallel cards, rare refractors and inserts that highlight the biggest names and moments in WWE today. The 300 card base set is a collector's challenge packed with common, uncommon and rare tiers, each available across a rainbow of parallels. Plus each case get a case of boxes guarantees one major case hit. You know it's dark energy, you know it's double exposure. And you know the one I'm searching for is that ULA Fala card. Whether you're chasing your favorite superstar, prospecting new talent, or going for The Full Rainbow 2025 Finest. WWE brings the action that's a guaranteed. And a match that brought the action tonight was AJ Lee and CM Punk versus Becky lynch and Seth Rollins. Now I was watching Becky lynch on ESPN this morning and she said that she was the greatest women's wrestler of all time. And Megan, I know that you've heard her say it. Apparently it's not just her saying it.
- [42:28]
B
And it's, it's not just Sports Illustrated either. No Bleacher Report also saying it.
- [42:34]
A
And, and she said, ESPN said, ESPN said it too.
- [42:37]
B
A lot of people are start starting.
- [42:39]
A
To say this, this match. I mean you talk about Brock Lesnar killing dreams. You talk about the Vision killing dreams. Well, Paul Heyman wasn't out there for this match. And this match delivered on all just, I mean maybe the feel good match of the entire year. Seth Rollins and Becky lynch come to the ring with just as spectacular an entrance as they possibly can with probably.
- [43:04]
B
The coolest gear of all time.
- [43:06]
A
Very purple, my favorite color. Purple's your favorite color?
- [43:09]
B
That's right.
- [43:10]
A
They must have known.
- [43:10]
B
I know.
- [43:11]
A
Or is it your favorite color now?
- [43:13]
B
Does it matter?
- [43:13]
A
No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't. I don't need the backstory. CM Punk And AJ Lee come out as only they can. Both of them, both teams, with the mashup theme music that's going to have fans debating as to which mashup was better.
- [43:25]
B
And CM Punk wearing a jacket that says AJ's husband with the thing on.
- [43:30]
A
The back he had instead of the five Chicago stars, it was like the stars and then the little AJ logo on the back of his trunks as well. These two. And we talked about it. Very much in love. Little peck on the cheek here. A little makeout sesh for Seth and Becky, which I wasn't that comfortable with. But love is great. We love love. Now, when you're talking about the match, oh, I mean, you talk about a beautiful three act story structure. Just that whole first act waiting for AJ Lee to finally hit the ring. You know, the fascinating thing about a mixed tag is that usually in these tag matches, you're waiting for that. For that hot tag. You're waiting for the good guy to tag his good guy partner so you can have that explosion. Except in a mixed tag, if Seth were to tag Becky, AJ Lee becomes the legal participant. So Seth's job is not only to keep CM Punk from tagging aj, but to also stay in the ring himself, to stay strong himself because he can't tag his partner. And to watch that kind of play itself out over the course of the first part of this match, I thought was. Was brilliantly done. And the amount of falses and almost. And we're going to see it. No, we're not going to see it. Oh, he made the tag, but the referee didn't see it. We finally get it. AJ Lee gets in the ring. And after 10 years, it is insane how much of a step she has not missed.
- [44:59]
B
And for a lot of fans tonight, myself included, this is our. My first time watching A.J. lee.
- [45:05]
A
Yeah. You've never seen. You didn't watch her live.
- [45:06]
B
You weren't watching 10 years ago. Wasn't watching live.
- [45:08]
A
You can go back and watch the.
- [45:09]
B
Old matches, but it's not the same.
- [45:11]
A
It's not the same.
- [45:11]
B
You don't feel it the way you felt it tonight.
- [45:14]
A
And you love Becky, but you feel what you feel.
- [45:16]
B
Yeah.
- [45:17]
A
And you felt it.
- [45:18]
B
Yeah, the whole crowd felt it.
- [45:20]
A
You were all lighting it up. That's what they call that. That's why the music says that. AJ going out there, not missing a step, and then like, I mean, going for like all the different moves on each other from. From Becky putting CM Punk in the.
- [45:37]
B
Sharpshooter, that was probably my favorite part.
- [45:39]
A
AJ Lee putting Seth in the Black Widow to just like. Like, move after move. And, I mean, and the makeout session that I was uncomfortable with being interrupted by a tope from. From. From CM Punk. And, And I will say this, we talked about L. A Knight just throwing the rules out the window. We love Jessica Carr as a referee, but, I mean, she just decided to let bygones be bygones in this one.
- [46:06]
B
There was a lot going on, right?
- [46:08]
A
Yeah.
- [46:08]
B
Maybe she too got overwhelmed in the emotion that it was AJ Lee's first match in over 10 years.
- [46:14]
A
As a fan, how could you blame her? I appreciate that she let everything go. I do wonder if a general manager is going to be like, hey, there are rules in matches. What were you doing out there?
- [46:24]
B
Oh, my bad.
- [46:24]
A
But as that's what I would say as a fan, I was like, this is great. Just watching him go at it, seeing that moment where it's like, we thought we were going to see the double table crash with Becky and AJ on one table and Seth and Punk on the other table, and then they switched around, and then you got to the point where you saw Punk was gonna throw Seth through the table, but Becky was still in charge of aj, so she threw AJ and they all just crashed through the table. Did it shock you when we. When we get to the end of this epic, epic match and what happens? The Black Widow is applied. No slickness, no nothing. Straight up. Becky lynch, the women's intercontinental champion, the woman some say is the best women's.
- [47:21]
B
Some.
- [47:22]
A
Some.
- [47:23]
B
A lot of people are saying it. Such as Sports Illustrated.
- [47:27]
A
Really?
- [47:28]
B
Espn. Oh, Bleacher Report.
- [47:30]
A
Oh, okay. All right. I didn't know all those were saying it. But regardless, she tapped out to the Black Widow. Becky lynch tapped out tonight. And CM Punk.
- [47:40]
B
No, it doesn't surprise me. You want to know why it doesn't surprise me?
- [47:43]
A
Oh, my God. I. Not really.
- [47:45]
B
Becky Lynch's intercontinental championship was not on the line, and she has so much respect for the title and defending the title with honor that she just. That she had to do what she had to do because she needs to be back on Monday Night Raw to defend the women's intercontinental title and be a fighting champion.
- [48:02]
A
So she lost.
- [48:04]
B
Sometimes you have to take losses.
- [48:06]
C
What?
- [48:08]
A
That's not how this works. You have to lose so that you could go defend your title again.
- [48:13]
B
What, do you want her to just get hurt and not be a fighting champion?
- [48:16]
A
No, I want her to escape the submission hold. And if she can't escape the submission hold, then she taps out because I'm not.
- [48:20]
B
Listen, she's slick, but maybe tonight she wasn't slick enough to escape AJ Lee's hold.
- [48:24]
A
It's hard to be that slick that deep into the match, you know what I mean? Especially because, let's be honest, she probably didn't have the largest expectations going in. She didn't know AJ Lee was still so good.
- [48:33]
B
No, she didn't. She was. She was all hung up on the neck.
- [48:36]
A
Yeah.
- [48:37]
B
10 years.
- [48:38]
A
Didn't seem like it was trying to play mind games at all. Okay. As a Becky lynch fan, but you still see that moment. You see CM Punk looking proud as he's laying beaten and broken across that table. He's still looking up and smiling because AJ gets this moment. It did make you feel kind of good.
- [48:55]
E
Yeah.
- [48:55]
B
And it's hard because I do. Like, I see Becky lynch tap out and I go, no. I won't accept that. There has to. To be a reason. So I come up with this reason that it's because her title wasn't on the line and she did what she had to do to keep herself healthy so she could defend the title. But I see CM Punk and I see AJ and I hear the reaction, and I feel what everybody else feels for aj, too. It's incredible. It's amazing.
- [49:19]
A
This is what it's all about. It's all about emotions. And we felt a ton of emotions in the match to declare the new Women's World Champion. That title vacated after Naomi went away to have a baby. Uce the match is made. Iyo Sky. That's what she's having. Iyo Sky. They were looking at me like I'm crazy. That's what she's having. EO sky versus Stephanie Vacair for the Women's World Championship. Stephanie Vacair comes out on top. And guess where the first place she went was with that championship. Right here to Club Russell Palooza. She joined us back here, and we'd like to share that with you. Oh, here she is. Come on in. Please sit down. The new. Yeah, yeah. Wherever you're comfortable. Neither microphone. And tell me how this sounds. Don't be sorry about this.
- [50:19]
B
Yes.
- [50:21]
A
The new WWE Women's World Champion.
- [50:26]
E
Yes.
- [50:27]
A
Stephanie Vacair. How do you feel?
- [50:30]
E
Wow. I thank you. Yeah, No, I. I can explain. And word. I. I say this is the dream of my life. The dream of my life. I can't believe today is like, finally. Yeah, finally.
- [50:52]
A
And we saw, you know, we saw during the Countdown show the. The video package and so much of your. Your story and how this really has meant everything to you. And, and we talked to you here on the podcast a month or two ago about the journey that you've been on and the fact that there were tryouts earlier and the fact that this did take as long as it took. And even when, when Megan and I asked you about how quickly you've been able to rise through the ranks to go through NXT to now become the women's World champion, you said, you know, it feels quick, maybe to you, but to you, this is something that you've worked for for years and years and years. Does this feel like the sort of acknowledgment of what you've. You've done and the fact that it was all worth it?
- [51:39]
E
I. I dream with this for the last 15 years. Every day. Every day. I have a long career and really difficult career because I, I born country then where the pro wrestling no exist. So, so hard for me. Move, learn new language, new style, start to learn wrestling. But every day I'm. I'm starting in wrestling. And every day, say, one day I will be champion. Like I did it.
- [52:20]
A
And what's it like for that match to be the match that we saw first, to be on WWE's first ple. On ESPN, which, I mean, you can feel the energy. This is so important for this company, and this company is clearly putting their best foot forward and kind of showcasing the best of what WWE has to offer. And for it to be in a match not to take anything away from Naomi, but for it to be in this match with IO sky, who is. Who is widely acknowledged as potentially the best female wrestler on the planet. I think you could argue that based on your championship, but, but, but does that make it more special?
- [52:59]
E
Yeah, I know for me, this is really special because I am La Primera. La Primera means the first one, because I did many things the first time. So now it's first time ESPN with WWE Wrestling Palooza. So we start a new history. And now I start. I make a new history with my championship. So together. This is not just something amazing for my career, it's amazing for my family, wwe.
- [53:34]
B
And it was also the first time that your father got to see you wrestle.
- [53:39]
E
Yes. And happy birthday. Happy birthday to dad. My dad.
- [53:43]
A
So it's his birthday. It's the first time he sees you wrestle live. And it's the night that you win the championship. Sometimes the fates, everything just aligns. Sometimes.
- [53:54]
E
We talk about that today with my dad, because when I was, I don't know, maybe 12 at WWE, big fam and watch TV. And my dad say, ah, you watch the wrestling and say, yeah, okay. And he watched with me and always says, like, ah, practice like. Like play with suplex. And yeah. So he. He saw my dream every day. He saw my sacrifice. So it's the first time he here can see me, my match in life. So my dad is like, crazy now, like, wow. And Chuck. But I go and say, dad, happy birthday. Yeah. He's so happy. And for me is special that they happen for one reason. It's weird because when I know. When WWE say, you know, go for crashing party, I feel so sad. But now I know why. Why Reason. Because now my dad can come here and see me.
- [55:09]
A
Yeah. That's.
- [55:10]
E
Yes. So. And make history with my family. Wwe, ESPN Wrestling Palooza. So I'm happy, I'm blessed. I can't describe in one word.
- [55:24]
A
That is wild, huh? That's even more.
- [55:26]
B
All the twists and turns. I mean, we saw you and we talked to you just after you won the match at Evolution that guaranteed you a title match, which was supposed to be maybe against you, Naomi in Paris. And all the twists and turns led to this championship moment with your father in the audience. Could you have ever imagined as big of a dream as this was for you? Could you have ever imagined that it would feel like this?
- [55:50]
E
This is better than my brain. Yeah. I always dream with this title, but now it's better than my dream. Because now with my dad and with my family, WWE here, wrestling palooza, it's. It's better. It's better than my dream.
- [56:05]
A
Have you thought at all about the fact that now, like, that dream has come true, that that journey, that chapter ends here, but now this other journey starts, this new journey, this separate, you know, life. And you see this with. With champions in the WWE sometimes where it's like you work and work, and this is the goal. Except now everything's only just begun. Now you have to not only defend the title, but you have to prove night after night that you deserve to be the top person in this women's division. And you know better than anybody how amazing this women's division is.
- [56:40]
E
Yeah. And sometimes this take a lot of time because I did try out for WWE seven years ago, and I'm not ready. And they say you're not ready. And I understand. But I go for other country, I learn new style, I go for all the discipline. I training every day. And I. I buy here after seven years and say, okay, I say one day, I go to wwe. And seven years later in wwe, so, yeah, sometimes the dream take a lot of time and many people can say, okay, I have now in. In wwe, have just one year.
- [57:26]
A
Yeah.
- [57:27]
E
But believe me, this is not big.
- [57:30]
B
I know you want to enjoy this and you should. You really should enjoy this, but I do have to ask. We've seen you on Monday Night Raw backstage with Rhea Ripley a few times. She's a superstar who, you know, she. She had quite the run with that title. Have you thought at all about defending the title? Have you thought at all about Rhea Ripley? I mean, it's not just Rhea. The entire roster on Raw is stacked.
- [57:55]
E
Yeah, I know. I. I need to start say I really want a match with Naomi. I'm so happy she pregnant. Good news. I waiting for Naomi. But I'm so happy because this match is with Eosky, one of the best in the world. And now, of course, I want to defend this when everyone. And when I say everyone, my dream, like, big match with Rhea, that's what that will be amazing. So when I say I like being challenged and I'm brave, so I'm here. Championship, everyone. I defend my championship with everyone.
- [58:43]
A
What about the sort of locker room component of this? That now you just said it's your first year in wwe. There's a period of time where I'm sure not very long ago at all, whether or not you've been doing this 15 years or not. You walked into a locker room with a lot of faces that hadn't seen you before. You were getting to know them for the first time, and now you lead this locker room.
- [59:10]
E
Yeah, I know.
- [59:11]
A
I mean, what is. What does that feel like? Is that a pressure that you want? Is that. Is that.
- [59:18]
E
It's amazing. Because the women's division, wwe women's division is the best women's division. And here I have respect because they know about my career before wwe. And I have a lot of respect for everyone because I know everyone. Amazing, amazing wrestler. And not just that, also many. I. I grew up with, I don't know, Trish status. So now it's like, wow. Same locker room. And for me, amazing CL Legends. Yeah, the. The woman started. They made a way for us. So I don't know. It's amazing. It's the best locker room in my career is my family. Because it's my family.
- [60:13]
A
But now, I mean, I think in this 15 years is what you need to do this. Because these people that you had all this admiration for, now all of a sudden are looking at you with admiration, with. Wow. I can't believe what she's bringing to the ring and what she's bringing into these matches and, and the way she's captured the audience, I mean, that's part of it, right? You can have the best matches in the world, but if the audience doesn't care, it just doesn't matter. You're not in that boat. I mean, the audience is riding with you. Every move that you make, everything that you do from entrance to exit, they've got your back. The devil's kiss, of course, is something everybody waits for. Have you heard two questions. How do you feel? And are you surprised at how quickly the audience jumped on with you? And second question, have you heard from.
- [61:09]
E
Booker T. I miss. And I love Booker T. Yeah, really, I really miss Booker T. Okay. I'm surprised. And people really support me and I need to say thank you because people really know about my career. And I know for me, when I say wrestling is my first language, it's because English is not my first language. Of course. And I can maybe sometimes I can say good. So wrestling is my first language. And anyway if I, I can speak really good English yet people really can see me in the ring and really can feel with me because I put my soul in the ring every time. So for me it really, I really, the people support for me is motivation because it's like thank you. I really, I really push myself and learn everyday English but if I can talk they anywhere, they can see my soul in the ring and my first language. Wrestling.
- [62:29]
B
Yeah, she makes us feel, I mean from the moment your music hits to, I mean the entire time we see you, you just, you make us all feel and congratulations. It's incredible.
- [62:39]
A
Yeah, I mean, well deserved. What a moment. I can't wait to see the moments that follow this and follow this because that's what else that championship is. It's a license to continue to create moments on the biggest scale imaginable. Thank you for sharing.
- [62:52]
E
Thank you.
- [62:53]
A
Some of your time with us tonight and go celebrate.
- [62:55]
B
Thank you.
- [62:56]
A
Go enjoy yourself.
- [62:59]
E
Thank you so much. Thank you.
- [63:02]
A
I mean how do you, how do you not root for Stephanie Vacair after seeing that Stephanie Vacair like, and you could feel it as she was answering these questions that this really is like something that she's worked for for all these years. And to see her have this success and to see it all feel deserved and to see the, it seems like based on her answers that the locker room supports her. You didn't, I mean you didn't have to be in Indianapolis, but we were to see that this building supported her and how many people online and watching on the ESPN app and Netflix internationally are supporting this move. To see this injection of fresh blood in the WWE women's division, I mean, it's great, isn't it?
- [63:46]
B
I just love seeing the stars align. For it to happen on a night like tonight. Because we. We talked to her before about her journey to get here. It was 15 years.
- [63:55]
A
Yes.
- [63:56]
B
But just zoom in a little bit and talk about the journey of the last several months. Going from evolution, that moment in the ring, confetti, falling down, women's all pay per view. She earns an opportunity to have a championship match, but then that has all kinds of twists and turns. She doesn't even know when the match is going to be. So the fact that it happened tonight. Yeah, her family in the audience, I think it was a dream scenario.
- [64:24]
A
That was a nuts part of the interview when she pointed out that, like, she was supposed to get the match at Clash in Paris and it seemed like, oh, well, we're not going to do it, but don't worry, we'll do it down the road. And a lot of times that's like, oh, no. If you miss your opportunity, it's not going to happen. But to know like that, as it turned out, it couldn't have been more perfect. It's really, really cool. Speaking of really cool, Fanatics 1 is really, really cool. Have you heard about Fanatics?
- [64:48]
B
Oh, I've heard about Fanatics 1.
- [64:49]
A
Yes. For all that you give to the game, now there's a loyalty program that gives back to you. Because being a fan deserves to be rewarded. Only Fanatics 1 members can earn fan cash and all that comes with it. Exclusive apparel, iconic experiences and rewards tailored to your fandom better than anyone else in the game. You can join now on the Fanatics app and enjoy member benefits from day one. Free shipping and returns, exclusive access to product drops, and the ability to earn and redeem fan cash whenever you shop and play with Fanatics. It's great. It's the best. Speaking of the best, speaking of moments, speaking of the feels, Undertaker comes down on his bike and I go, undertaker's here. This is amazing. I love when the Undertaker's here. He sits down next to Stephanie McMahon and he says something I've always wanted to do. And I'm like, what's going on? Like, I don't even understand what we're doing here. And he goes, are you ready? And I go, what'd I say?
- [65:56]
B
He said, undertaker's joining dx.
- [65:58]
A
I was so psyched. I was like, this is so cool. Undertaker's joining dx. I never thought we were gonna get here. I know. As a kid, it was 98. I'm like, you know, it'd be awesome if Undertaker was in dx. All my friends would be like, no, it wouldn't. That wouldn't be awesome at all. And I'm like, oh, I'm gonna tell them all, he's in DX. He's doing the 100 thing right now. But he wasn't joining. You were right on that one. You were right. He wasn't joining dx. I was wrong again.
- [66:21]
B
It's so funny how quickly you get carried away.
- [66:24]
A
I know, I know, because the thing. And I'm like, my God, this is so great. It was something else. Also great, though, he announces that Stephanie McMahon is the first inductee that is going to be going into the WWE hall of fame in 2026. And seeing Steph react the way she reacted, and then, like, whenever these hall of Fame announcements get made, I get so reflective on the performers that they get announced for. Stephanie is so much more than a performer. I mean, she's a McMahon. She's Stephanie McMahon. Her whole life has been this company. She was in the catalog ads when she was a little kid selling rockers T shirts. As soon as she was in a, she was a performer and, like, evolved into being this, like, oh, Stephanie McMahon's on TV. She's getting, you know, she's in trouble with. With. With the Undertaker, and she's getting involved in this and getting involved with that. And now Triple H is marrying her on television and what's on. What on earth is going on and becomes, like, elevates in a way to the point that she becomes, like, the blueprint for a heel in the role that she was in. I mean, what's the first thing that people said when Becky and revealed herself as the person to help Seth retain the World Championship at Clash in Paris? They said it's a power couple. Like the McMahon Helmsley regime. It is the blueprint for all of this and for her to be as big a part of wrestling history as she has been throughout the eras. But then also, you know, be this influence behind the scenes. You hear so many people doing these interviews, whether they're in WWE or out after they leave wwe, and they start talking about what was really going on behind the scenes and this and that and who influenced them and who helped them, and they all have these stories about Stephanie McMahon and how important she is and has been and continues to be. And I mean, just as a fan who was going back to thinking about high school and the Undertaker and Stephanie and all these stories that were told, to see them here on ESPN in Indianapolis and go, yeah, I'm the guy who's telling you you're going into the hall of Fame was just such an awesome special moment. And I'm just. I'm happy for me as a fan, but so happy for Stephanie as well.
- [68:56]
B
Thrilled for Stephanie. Loved the emotion. I mean, not that anybody, like, we all knew Stephanie was going to get in the hall of Fame at some point for wwe. Right. She's so deserving of it. But I did not think it was going to happen tonight. When the Undertaker first came out and he's talking to Stephanie nowhere, anywhere. Did anybody think this is a Hall of Fame announcement?
- [69:19]
A
No, I had a different thought entirely.
- [69:21]
B
Yeah, we know.
- [69:22]
A
I thought he was going to do it.
- [69:22]
B
I had no idea what was going on. But congratulations to Stephanie.
- [69:27]
A
Yes.
- [69:28]
B
Looking forward to all of the festivities in Vegas.
- [69:31]
A
And if there is, you know, now that we put it out in the atmosphere, if there is sort of a thought of, like, aside from this as, like, okay, like, we're done. Like, if there is a position to, like, put Undertaker in DX at some point, that could also be. We're doing big things in WWE right now. We're all about the moment, so that could be a cool thing as well.
- [69:51]
B
This is about Stephanie. All right.
- [69:52]
A
We don't need no we. I'm just saying because it was too separate. I don't want him. One doesn't overshadow the other. But it just also could be cool. We're gonna see so much fallout from this show. Not just that, but so much fallout from this show with Heyman, especially after we saw him in here. He almost destroyed our whole studio, by the way. That whole group did. But he's going to be on Raw. He's going to be on Raw. And I'm anxious to see what he's going to be saying, what he's going to be doing on Monday Night Raw. Of course we're going to be there to recap the whole thing. Make sure that you're subscribed across all audio platforms, Apple, Spotify, to the recap podcast. Make sure you're watching on YouTube, leaving comments, hitting like. And we will see you right after Monday Night Raw to figure out where we are in a post Wrestle Palooza World.