Money In The Bank Review with Wade Keller - SAS CLASSIC

Summary

The Steve Austin Show — SAS Classic

Episode: Money In The Bank Review with Wade Keller
Date: March 10, 2026
Guest: Wade Keller, Pro Wrestling Torch
Theme: In-depth analysis and brash, no-holds-barred takes on WWE’s “Money in the Bank” PPV, Monday Night Raw, and Smackdown Live.

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Episode Overview

In this SAS Classic episode, Steve Austin welcomes returning guest Wade Keller — founder of Pro Wrestling Torch — to dissect WWE’s Money in the Bank PPV, plus the following week’s Raw and Smackdown. Replete with candid opinions and locker room-level insights, the duo riff on controversial finishes, rising stars, questionable logic in booking, and what it takes to make both talent and storylines resonate with today’s audience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Wade Keller’s Announcement

• [03:20] Wade announces his new “Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast” joining Podcast One, promising “independent analysis, fast turnaround reviews of Raw and Smackdown, and deep industry interviews.”
  • Quote: “I have that independence to call it as I see it, but I do so… with profound respect for the hard work, the risk and the effort that goes into putting on a wrestling show.” —Wade Keller [05:30]
• Wade shares how his approach will balance critique and respect, stating his utmost obligation is to listeners.

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2. Women’s Money in the Bank Match Finish

• [14:44–19:43] Major debate over James Ellsworth winning the briefcase for Carmella, overshadowing the historic moment for the women’s division.
  • Wade: “WWE hyped this match as a landmark moment ... and then they book a finish where James Ellsworth ... unhooks the briefcase and essentially wins the match for Carmella. People are freaking out.” [14:44]
  • Steve: “If they had a men's match and a female valet climbed up and gave the briefcase to her guy, you’d never see that.” [17:20]
  • Both agree: For the first women’s MITB match, a female winner should have prevailed without Ellsworth's involvement.
• The finish led to WWE redoing the match, likely chasing TV ratings but at the cost of credibility and goodwill.

Notable Quotes

• Steve: “That kid grabs the briefcase, Carmella allegedly wins. ... For an epic first ever money in the bank match ... some guy climbs up the ladder and wins it.” [17:20]
• Wade: “Sometimes the heat doesn’t go on the heel. It goes on the company.” [19:03]

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3. Carmella’s Promo Work

• Both hosts praise Carmella’s promos on Smackdown and Talking Smack as a highlight, despite the booking controversy.
  • Steve: “The promo she had in the ring ... was pretty damn good. You get to see her spinning her wheels and out there running her mouth.” [20:09]
  • Wade: “Her with a briefcase is money ... she was really strong.” [20:30]

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4. Naomi vs. Lana — Smackdown Women’s Championship

• Steve and Wade are baffled by Lana’s instant title shot, criticizing its disrespect for the title’s prestige.
  • Wade: “I thought it was disrespecting of the title ... title matches should be earned.” [22:08]
  • Steve: “The best of the best belong on a pay per view ... you have this person come from nowhere, get a title shot.” [23:06]
• Both feel Lana was more compelling as Rusev’s valet and hasn't earned marquee status as a wrestler yet.

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5. Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton — WWE Championship

• Orton lauded as “carrying” Jinder to one of his better matches.
  • Steve: “Randy Orton carried Jinder to a pretty damn good match ... he was leading the match.” [26:18]
• Wade expresses skepticism about Mahal’s long-term viability as top champ, noting Smackdown’s sagging demographics post-Jinder push.
  • Wade: “I'm still not sure Randy and Jinder are the answer as main event.” [27:04]

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6. Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

• Both pleased that the match was safer and less spot-heavy than past MITBs.
  • Wade: “They took fewer chances ... make every spot, every bump, every risk count for something.” [30:39]
  • Steve: “You ain’t got to sprint up that thing like Usain Bolt ... but get your ass up there.” [33:22]
• Baron Corbin’s win: agreement that he’s “a little ahead of schedule,” but Wade is optimistic about his future, provided Corbin continues to develop.

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7. Shinsuke Nakamura’s Booking Concerns

• Discussion on Nakamura’s “house of fire” comeback in the MITB match after a lengthy absence during the bout.
  • Wade: “I think there was some risk ... people paid to see him and got cheated out of that.” [38:01]
• Concern that Nakamura isn’t establishing a clear WWE mission or standing out strongly enough in his booking (“He’s just kind of floating around aimlessly” — Wade [44:09]).
• Both agree his mystique risks being diluted by ordinary presentation.

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8. Raw & Smackdown Takeaways

Cass Turns on Enzo (Raw) [57:24]

• Both love the emotion and delivery of the betrayal segment.
  • Steve: “He really lived up to this. ... Enzo, like you said, it was emotional. ... Now I want to see where they go from here.” [58:51]
  • Wade: “I thought that was a ... very encouraging segment ... we’re on a journey to see what that is, and that’s what I love about watching wrestling.” [59:41]

Roman Reigns’ New Edge (Raw) [61:41]

• Roman showed authentic reactions to the crowd; hosts see hints of effective heel work but uncertain if WWE is truly pulling the trigger.

Samoa Joe’s Ascendancy

• Both hosts excited about Joe vs. Lesnar. Steve praises WWE for letting Joe rise naturally, similar to AJ Styles:
  • Steve: “Joe’s ... a true talent ... I buy into him, he’s legit, I like him, he’s a threat, he can work his ass off.” [65:03]
• Joe praised for authenticity and intensity in matches, with the Lesnar build being highly anticipated.

Bray Wyatt & Seth Rollins Promo [69:53]

• Segment critiqued for lacking clarity in Seth’s babyface mission; Bray’s promo regarded as a standout.
  • Steve: “As a character, he’s Seth Rollins, no more, no less. ... I like Bray’s promo ... kept it not too long ... just took him a little more serious here.” [71:51]
  • Wade: “Bray kind of won this debate ... gave Seth something to prove ... but I don’t think he did a good job countering that.” [73:02]

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9. Booking Logic & Consistency Concerns

• Frequent frustrations with WWE logic:
  • Why does Lana get a title shot? Why does Luke Harper get Jinder in the main event? Why is AJ making matches for Kevin Owens?
    • Steve: “As the world champion and as a heel, you’ve got the ability to be the biggest prick in the world to say, why would I want to wrestle this guy?” [50:19]
    • Wade: On AJ/KO: “There’s no way to fix it or make sense of it ... but at least then logic wise, [KO] has accepted the match.” [55:01]

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Memorable Quotes

• Austin on Wrestling Respect:
  “We're not trying to take a shot at anybody. ... When we join together, it is from a respectful point where we have our opinions and thoughts ... It comes from a love of the business.” [06:28]
• Keller on MITB Finish:
  “There are times that the heat doesn’t go on the heel; it goes on the company. Especially in 2017 ... I just feel like that was a step too far.” [19:03]
• Austin on Carmella’s Promos:
  “I thought she really shined. ... It’d be great to see her with a briefcase had she won it in a fashion that was fitting.” [21:30]
• Austin on Baron Corbin:
  “All of a sudden, you put a spotlight on this kid ... it can absolutely expose you.” [35:01]
• Keller on Nakamura’s Direction:
  “He hasn’t issued a mission statement ... a new guy with his credentials needs to arrive and have a mission.” [44:09]
• Austin on Braun Strowman:
  “Just don’t look like a cheerleader so much.” [68:10]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Wade Keller announcement: [03:20–06:28]
• Women's MITB finish debate: [14:44–19:43]
• Carmella’s promos and presence: [20:09–21:30]
• Naomi vs Lana criticism: [22:08–23:06]
• Jinder Mahal vs Orton analysis: [26:18–28:54]
• Men’s MITB match, Corbin’s win: [30:39–37:50]
• Nakamura’s WWE use: [38:01–44:09]
• Enzo & Cass breakup: [57:24–61:35]
• Roman Reigns character assessment: [61:41–63:33]
• Joe, Lesnar, and Braun Strowman: [64:06–68:10]
• Rollins-Bray segment: [69:53–73:58]
• Closing thoughts and plugs: [74:06–76:46]

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Final Thoughts

This episode delivered trademark candid conversation and no-nonsense critiques, laced with the wrestling wisdom and banter only Austin and Keller can provide. Wrestlers and creative teams alike would do well to consider their observations on logic, respect for titles, establishing character missions, and the importance of authenticity — in both promo and performance.

Find more from Wade Keller:

• PWTorchLivecast.com for podcasts
• PWtorch.com for written coverage, analysis, and archives
• Follow Wade on social media for updates

Next time:
Steve teases a phone-in show and (of course) more unfiltered pro wrestling talk — with plenty of Four Letter Words.

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(Summary by SAS Podcast Summarizer – preserving the hosts’ plain-spoken, irreverent tone while delivering all the key wrestling fan insights.)

Transcript

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[Wade Keller]

And of course, we appreciate you listening to this show, which will get started in just a second. The following program is a podcast1.com production. He started in a small town in

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Texas, worked his ass off to become

[Wade Keller]

one of the most famous wrestlers of all time.

[Steve Austin]

We're gonna take care of business tonight. And that's the bottom line.

[Wade Keller]

He's dominating the world of on demand audio and he's doing it for the working man.

[Steve Austin]

This is a damn good outlet for me to spew the bullshit off my brain.

[Wade Keller]

This is the Steve Austin Show. Unleash.

[Steve Austin]

All right, everybody. Welcome to Steve Austin Show. I'm coming to you from the mean streets of Los Angeles, California. Today, I'm sitting here in my house at 316 Gimmick Street. I have a special guest on the phone. His name is Wade Keller, the Pro Wrestling Torch. This is a little bit different. Open than I normally do, but since it's my podcast, I do whatever the fuck I want. That's how we roll. Wade Keller, welcome to the show. What's happening?

[Wade Keller]

It's good to be back. Week two, I think we went a little more than 15 minutes last week.

[Steve Austin]

You're killing me. You're killing me. And here's the thing.

[Wade Keller]

Kay Fabe Steve. Do you think we'll go 15 this week?

[Steve Austin]

You know, but I enjoy talking about the business of pro wrestling and we will dial it back into a 15 or 20 minute segment one of these days. Let me go ahead and let the cat out of the bag on this end. What you're about to hear is a 60 minute conversation of myself and Wade Keller talking about money in the bank. Monday Night Raw, Tuesday Smackdown. We don't cover everything in its totality or its entirety, just some of our high points or our takeaways from we started going and it turned into a one hour podcast. So I figured, you know what, I think Wade's gonna say some words here. So we'll do it on the front end of the podcast. This is normally during the Open the show where I sit here and kind of spin some tales, talk about some bullshit. And I will continue to do that. But what's going on with you, Wade?

[Wade Keller]

Well, sure, I want to make an announcement and you are privy to it, Steve, that I'll be joining the Podcast one family of podcasts next month and we'll have more details in the next couple of weeks which I'll announce on your show because I'm a weekly guest here on But I just wanted to give people a heads up that I'm excited about this and I hope that every single one of your listeners will subscribe to my podcast on Podcast one. It'll be called the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast and we're going to talk about pro wrestling and I'm going to have some really cool, I've got really cool ideas for the show and I'm very much looking forward to it and I'm not going to talk too much about it ahead of time, at least not this far out in terms of what we have planned. But very excited and I've enjoyed working with you and I've really enjoyed working with everybody at Podcast one in a green to be on summer regularly and now regularly with you. So this is, it's a cool move. And yeah, I don't know what to say other than I'm very excited to reach the Podcast one audience and bring the brand of wrestling coverage and analysis that I've brought to guesting on your show and have brought to my publication and website and podcast over at PWTorch all these years.

[Steve Austin]

God dang. So will how similar to what you're already doing, will this be your venture with Podcast one?

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, it's going to be similar again, some of the details I'll unveil when things get a little bit more locked down. Right now I'm doing a lot of podcasts for VIP members and then a number of [e-mail] and there will be a lot of familiarity to the format and the approach that I take with the Podcast one show. But there's also some things I want to do differently and it's given me a chance to kind of take a fresh look at how I, how I approach covering things. And a lot of it just depends on finalizing the schedule and a couple other aspects of it, and that will determine that. But I mean, we're the conversations you and I have, those are the types of conversations that I like to have with a wide array of guests. And so we're going to have different. There'll be interviews, there'll be co hosts. It's going to be really timely. I mean, the key to the show for a lot of people is going to be the fast turnaround on instantly analyzing raw, instantly analyzing smackdown, and going in depth with the brand of coverage that I have, which is an independent voice. One of the assets that I have, one of the assets I don't have is having wrestled. I haven't worked in the industry, but that's also an asset. I'm an independent voice. I have done this nearly 30 years now and have interviewed just about every major name in the wrestling industry with long form insider interviews, had a lot of off record conversations, traveled the world watching wrestling. And I have that independence to call it as I see it, but I do so in a way that I, with profound respect for the hard work, the risk and the effort that goes into putting on a wrestling show. And I'm going to continue to have that same voice at the podcast one show.

[Steve Austin]

And I'm glad to hear you say that because I know like when you and I are talking about the matches or the guys or the gals or whatever it is, with respect. And so we're not trying to take a shot at anybody. We're just talking and our opinions of the business and your show specifically for you or like you and I are together, we're never taking shots on anybody. And like you said, you're a guy who loves the business. I was a guy who was in the business that still loves it. And so when we join together, it is from a respectful point where we have our opinions and thoughts of the presentation or the performance as it pertains to guys, gals and storylines in general. It comes from a love of the business.

[Wade Keller]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is not a job that I chose and then decided to learn about wrestling. This is something that appealed to me long before it was a job and that I was incredibly passionate about. But, you know, I mean, I always say the number one. The number one thing that I'm serving when I do, what I do is the listeners and the readers and the subscribers. My obligation is truth and honesty with them in my approach to what I do. But I don't think people would want to listen to me if there wasn't a level of respect for the business and a love for it, too, which comes across. But sometimes loving and respecting the business means being critical of some decisions that people are making and power. And that's obviously a big part of our voice at Pro Wrestling Torch. And even when I'm on with you, it's making sure that there's not that I'm serving the listeners first and foremost and trying to really just go on a journey with them, trying to figure out what's working, what's not, and why, and understand the players who are making the decisions and evaluate what is working and what's not and why.

[Steve Austin]

Hey, man, do you have a timetable or just a big picture as to when you might start your show?

[Wade Keller]

It'll be next month, within a few weeks.

[Steve Austin]

Outstanding. Hey, man, welcome to the Podcast One family. I'm glad you're aboard, and I'm sure your listeners. Well, hopefully all of my listeners will listen to your show. And as you know, everything is a different venture. So I've always enjoyed talking to you with all the guests that you're reaching out to. Look no further than yours truly. If you ever get in the jam,

[Wade Keller]

I will save that comment and hound you with it if I'm in a jam.

[Steve Austin]

But I'll tell you what, it's always fun talking to you, and you're about to listen to myself and Wade talk about money in the bank. Money. Not Raw on Tuesday, Smackdown for the next hour. But God dang, Wade, we got to get us an official timekeeper. We need to fly in Mark Eaton. Somebody give us the go home cue. But there's so many things to cover. We picked the wrong day to try to go. Well, me as my show to go. Monday to bank and Monday night Raw and Smackdown. So it was a good time talking to you, but we'll see if we can dial it back. But I wish you all the luck in the world with your Podcast One relationship.

[Wade Keller]

Thank you, Steve. I'm very much looking forward to it. I see it as a great opportunity. And like I said, next week I'll Be on with you. And I probably at that point can lay out the format and the timing and all that in more detail.

[Steve Austin]

Well, there you have it, folks, straight from the horse's mouth. Wade Keller, Pro Wrestling Torch, bringing his talents to Podcast one. He ain't taking his talents down there to South Beach. They don't need him down there. They need him over Podcast one. He's coming on board. Wade, congratulations. Continued success and much success on this platform. I tell you what, you're about to hear me talk to Wade Keller for about an hour. So I'm not gonna beat around the bush too much here. I had some bullshit stories I was gonna tell you about taking my illustrious wife Kristen out to the club for dinner where I couldn't get a goddamn drink. And the old people beside us were talking so loud, we moved to another table where some other old people sat next to us and they was loud as shit and was eating all kinds of bread and butter. I'm going to save that story for you. And when I talk about old people, I say it with respect, because at 52 years of age, I am trying to turn myself into an old person in 20 years and join the people I will be talking about. It's a whole different conversation. I will talk to you on the next podcast Thursday for sure, so I can make sure I color the story out just like it happened, with no limit on what I can say. I gotta have four letter words to tell these kind of stories. And a story about picking up the dog shit when I tripped. That's just another spoiler. Boy, you've got so much to look forward to here on the Steve Austin Show.

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[Wade Keller]

Unleashed.

[Steve Austin]

All right, I just hit the record button. I got Wade Keller, Pro Wrestling Torch on the other end of the line. He is still on vacation, Colorado. Fixing to head back to Minnesota tomorrow. Wade, how are you? You enjoying yourself over there? You ready to get back in the groove and get back to Minnie?

[Wade Keller]

Yes, I am. I wouldn't call it a vacation. I'd call it a working road trip because it would've been a ton of hours. Still keeping up on everything, doing all the shows, doing all the podcasts and still following wrestling. It's been fun, but it's a different setting. But I'm ready for home.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, let's get this thing going because last time we tried this, this originally when Wade and I started talking, it's gonna be like a 15 or 20 minute segment and all of a sudden last week and it just turned into a whole podcast. So we could do this every week, but we got to keep it down to 15, 20, whatever it's going to turn out to be. I don't really have any time limits, but Wade has his own stuff that he's doing. So let's jump right in. We've got three days of wrestling as far as WWE related stuff to talk about. Wade, I'm going to let you lead the charge. We still kind of finesse this thing and dial it in. You want to start off with Money in the Bank? Go Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.

[Wade Keller]

How do you go here?

[Steve Austin]

Okay, talk to me about your perceived highlights or your takeaways from Money in the Bank.

[Wade Keller]

Well, I thought Money in the bank was a middle of the road show, maybe a slight Thumbs up. I thought I had some assets that, you know, some good and some mediocre and some bad. The top story coming out of it is the. I mean, there's. I want to talk about Baron Corbin winning Money in the bank and, you know, Jinder Mahal retaining and the way that he did. But the finish of the Women's Money in the bank match created a shitstorm in social media that WWE hyped this match as this monumental landmark moment in women's wrestling. And it's all, it's not all hyped. I mean, there's some truth to it. Obviously they've changed their approach to featuring women more in longer matches. No Bra and Panty's matches. But it's not like nobody's ever promoted serious women's wrestling before. But they built it up. They have this video and the women are talking about what it means to them and then they book a finish where James Ellsworth, a guy and not exactly, you know, a high end athlete as he's portrayed in wwe, unhooks the briefcase and essentially wins the match for Carmella and drops the briefcase into her arms. People are freaking out about it and, you know, immediately Dana Bryant and Shane McMahon on social media said this will not stand or we're going to investigate it at least. And then last night we kind of got a jump to smackdown to tie this appropriately into where they ended up. Daniel Bryan said, we're going to redo the match. He took the briefcase back from Carmel and Ellsworth and they're going to redo the match next Tuesday. So they're going to get a rating out of it. But I've been talking on the PW Torch livecast earlier today, I did a show and we, Travis Bryant and I talked a lot about this. Like, is it. Are fans reacting the way WWE wants or did that finish go a step too far where the heat is on the company and not on the heels? I'm curious for your thoughts, Steve, on that finish in the way that they framed it.

[Steve Austin]

Well, as far as needing a story to carry to the next week. Well, you got your story, but yeah, was it taken or like I said, where did the Heat go? First of all, Carmela made a great catch. When Ellsworth dropped the briefcase. He made a great catch, but I didn't. When the kids started climbing up there, with all due respect to Ellsworth, I mean, he's doing what he was told, I thought. But one of the women was going to push the ladder match and maybe he's Going to split the top rope with just some type of epic, you know, like a nutshot or just take a bump nonetheless or something safe where he's just eliminated and he's not the one grabbing the briefcase. That kid grabs the briefcase, Carmela allegedly wins. And I'm like, you know, same thing as you said for trying to be an epic first ever money in the bank match. And then some guy climbs up the ladder and wins it. You know, what if they had a money in the bank match with the guys and one of the guys had a female valet and during the course of the match, she climbs up and then drops the briefcase down to the guy. I don't think you'll ever. You would never see that. You never have seen it. You've never seen anything close to that. So all of a sudden, for this to happen in that match, it really rubbed me the wrong way. I just thought that there was a way better finish and I thought one of the women should have had the opportunity to earn by climbing. And they were having a pretty damn good match. You could see some of the choreography there, some of those ladder climbs and everything. So it kind of followed the template. And that's one of the tough things about these matches. The same was true with respect to the men's money and the bank match as far as following that blueprint. And there are timing issues. They're hard matches to have. And you can say, well, Steve, what do you know about a ladder match? I know a lot about ladder matches because I've seen a million of them. And I was actually in one with Shane and Vince McMahon and when I was pitched that I would be in a letter match, I didn't like it at all. And we used step letters and I don't think anything. I think we used three foot letters and there were some six foot letters. So there was nothing spectacular about my letter match. But they're hard matches to work. These women put their bodies on the line. Now they've got to do it on television on Tuesday. To your point, it will give WWE a rating. But I just thought that there should have been a winner in this match and it should have been a woman who was competing in that match, not Ellsworth.

[Wade Keller]

And I think they could have gotten away with this finish if this was the third annual Women's Money in the Bank.

[Steve Austin]

I agree.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, yeah. Like, it's the fact that it was a first one and they built it up someone. Now I think maybe in their mind they're thinking that made the heat all the Greater. We built it up as a sacred thing, and then elves were spits on it. And, I mean, I understand that approach. I think it's a. It's all worthy of discussion. But I think. I mean, in a broader macro sense, there are times that the heat doesn't go on the heel. It goes on the company. Especially in 2017, with how fans consume wrestling outside of the shows and how they, you know, knowing how it works, I. I just. I feel like that was a step too far for the first ever match, and I think they actually paid a price for effectively building it up as such a landmark moment for women.

[Steve Austin]

Okay. We could go back and forth on this all the time. You know, within the company, they're thinking, oh, man. Well, Austin and Keller are talking about it, so it got the desired result that we wanted. But again, I think a woman should have won that match fair and square, climbed up the ladder and, you know, had that money in the bank opportunity to play whenever she wanted to. On a side note, I thought some of Carmela's promos. The one on. What's she on? Smackdown.

[Wade Keller]

Yep.

[Steve Austin]

Okay. The. The promo she had in the ring on Smackdown and then on Smack Talk afterward were pretty damn good. So I get the chance to see a little bit more of her character, get to see her spinning her wheels and out there running her mouth. I thought she was effective with the promos, and I got to know more about her and to see a little bit of her personality, which was a good thing. But nonetheless, let's move on and talk.

[Wade Keller]

Well, go ahead. Steve, I gotta interrupt you, because if you were gonna change subject, I was going to interrupt you and say. I want to say what you just said, because as much as, you know, we were talking about the booking, you're totally right. I'm just backing up what you said. I thought Carmela not only on. I thought she was stronger on Smackdown than Talking Smack, but she was really strong on Smackdown. And even Monday night, we had A report on pwtorch.com from a correspondent who attended the house show that was opposite Iran outside of Indianapolis, and he said that she was great. She was rushing, trotting along with Ellsworth, flaunting the briefcase in front of the fans, and it got a ton of heat. And I was like, I wish she had won it nefariously, but not that way.

[Steve Austin]

Yes.

[Wade Keller]

Because I think her with a briefcase is money, and I'm kind of hoping that that's under consideration for Tuesday, that she wins in a way that takes advantage of the rules. But not in such a blatant way that it disrespects, you know, kind of the whole concept. So, yeah, I had. I was. Was impressed with her, and I think it was a win for her this week, even if the storyline is being questioned.

[Steve Austin]

Well, I'm glad you noticed that, just like I did, because I thought she really shined. And now, like you said to your point, it'd be great to see her with a briefcase had she won it in a fashion that was fitting. So now if they do this second one and then she gets it, it's like, well, okay. But at least a spotlight has shined upon her, and we know that she has some talent and she's athletic. She's still green, she's still learning, but she has a future. And so, anyway, moving on, man, I'll tell you what the next thing I want to talk about as far as Money in the bank was Naomi versus Lana for the smackdown Women's Championship. I don't know how this match came to be.

[Wade Keller]

In a nutshell, Lana said some mean things to Naomi and then asked for a title match. And Naomi said, I'm a fighting champion. Sure. And then Shane McMahon agreed. I mean, I was. I. I don't want to overstate it and say I was appalled by it, but I thought it was disrespecting of the title, and I thought it made Shane look bad and I thought it made Naomi look bad, because I don't think somebody who has never wrestled on the main roster, she is portrayed as somebody who just decided to get into wrestling recently. They're not. I mean, it just. There, that's her. That's how they're presenting her. I don't believe it serves WWE or the fans or their ability to. To sell title matches as meaning something. To have Shane agree to it and Naomi offer it. I think title matches should be earned. I think Naomi should have said, you don't get a shot at a title till you earn it. I had to work hard to earn it. There's these women who are in a ladder match trying to earn a shot at it. You can earn it, but I'll fight you, and I'll fight you on Sunday. Like that. That makes a lot more sense to me.

[Steve Austin]

I'll fight you. Hey, you want a shot at me? I'll fight you. No title on the line because you didn't do anything to deserve it. But since I'm a fighting champion, I will fight you. But you don't deserve a shot of the title. So that is not on the line. So then it's back on to Lana. Okay, yeah, I'll accept that. Because I want to go in there with the best of the best because you have the belt, and so let's tangle. But the title is not on the line. So with putting words into Naomi's mouth that, hey, I'm a fighting champion, to give reason for this match to happen and thereby some logic, I just. Naomi deserves better. The title deserves better. Lana wasn't up for this task at hand. At this point in her career, I thought she had much more mystique as the valet, whatever the term is. With Rusev going back to six before, man, they kind of killed her gimmick off and reinvented her. And I just liked her the way she was. And so if she wants to be in ring, that's more power to her. But just to. And a lot of the stuff that I got on Twitter was, hey, man, for a first match, you know, she did a lot better than I expected. Okay. And when I say that, good for her, good for her. But as a company who's striving for excellence in sports, entertainment, professional wrestling, the best of the best belong on a pay per view. They're not pay per views anymore, but the best of the best. Whether you're a top tier worker or someone who is over with X factor, it factor or selling merch or drawing a crowd, those are the people that need to be featured on the pay per views. And all of a sudden you have this person come from nowhere, get a title shot, be featured now come back two weeks later to be in another featured match on smackdown, which is going to do a number or not. But I just thought, man, you have to treat a title with higher regard and respect than that and put the people on the pay per views or the events that are broadcast on the WWE network, the best of the best are on the shows. That's just the way I see it.

[Wade Keller]

No, no, I agree. And I think it's difficult in the. Again we talk about money in the bank in the context for the women. If it was the third match and there were two straight up wins and this was the third one, I get it. I think it would have worked better and not had a backlash. That I think is more negative than positive with this. I think Lana getting a title shot. Glad. I'm glad she didn't win the title. But just getting a title shot, I think brings back some bad memories of Jinder Mahal. And I mean, Jinder's fine. I mean, like, but. But There was no journey and no story told to get fans to buy into him. Going from a guy losing on TV all the time to a contender, they didn't tell that story. However. What? Through whatever lens you watch wrestling, you need to have a story to believe in that makes it seem like Jinder Mahal belongs in a top spot and that you were along on that journey. I remember watching Bret Hart go from prelim guy to tag team champion to IC champion to world champion, and I bought him as a world champion because I was along for the ride. So Lana getting this shot, it's a slap in the face for a lot of reasons. But the timing couldn't be worse because fans are still reeling from the out of nowhere gender push.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, speaking of the gender push, money in the bank. Jenna Mahal vs. Randy Orton and Jenner Mahal retains interference. You know, at ringside, I don't know if there would be interference, but anyway, I thought Randy did a hell of a job in carrying gender. And I've said people, I've said the word carrying before and people take it out of context or think, oh, what are you talking about? Truly, Randy Orton carried gender to a pretty damn good match until, you know, everything started going towards the end and the finish happened like it did. It was a big moment. I thought Randy might even go over in this match. But I thought Jinder stepped up this game and I thought it was a credit to the ability of Randy Orton to carry him in this match. What were your thoughts?

[Wade Keller]

I totally agree. I thought that Randy brought the energy, he brought a sense of caring more so I thought that maybe for sure being in St. Louis and having more energized crowd helped. I think having his dad and other legends at ringside was probably a motivator for Randy. I don't know how much he cares or even is aware of people, you know, kind of saying, you know, Randy's not. Doesn't seem all that motivated. And he seems like he just kind of is in cruise control and Randy and cruise control is good. But I don't think he's great in the sense that he's motivating people to go, I got to be a network subscriber. I got to go to house show to see a Randy match. This was a match that I thought was a motivated Randy. And I agree. I think he brought Jinder up to another level. I like the pacing of the match. I mean, I know Randy's known as the anti dive guy, but to me, this was a good example of a match that stayed for the Most part in the ring told a good story. It just, it was structured well and executed well and yeah, I mean it was, it wasn't like a show stealer, but it was a good match. I would still argue in 2017 when you've got AJ Styles and Shinsuke and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn and the history of their quality of matches and you have a huge drop off in the 18 to 35 year old and 18 to 49 male demos between the first of the year and now on Smackdown, it's like 40 some percent have left since WrestleMania season and the first show of the year. You got to start wondering is a Jinder Randy Orton match that we can compliment, say it was good, it was solid, it was one of Jinder's better matches and Randy was energized. Is that enough to bring the fans who are choosing to watch other things back? And I'm still not quite sure Randy and Jinder are the answer as main of as the main event. And I thought this was a good second, third from the top match for a US title. I'm still not sure that they're giving what the fans need to see in the main events though.

[Steve Austin]

Well, I think they're playing to that St. Louis crowd, the fact that it was Randy's hometown and playing upon that storyline with respect to how the match was structured, pacing, yes, everything was really good, really solid gender. You know, he's got to start coming around a little bit, being a little bit more aggressive. He was a little pensive out there that sometimes, you know, maybe just a little bit lost. Randy Orton kept staying the course. He was leading the match. So Jinder's got to be able to loosen up a little bit, take a breath of fresh air, lay his shit in, really, you know, be able to be more in the moment. It was almost like he was following a blueprint to a degree. And I'm a fan of the kid, so I'm wishing him well, but he's just got to loosen up and look like this is actually, you know, he's thinking about what he's doing and there's a thought process of, hey, fuck, I'm going to do this now. And he's just kind of still going through those motions and it comes across as going through the motions. So, you know, again, a Rogan match carried by Randy Orton. Could it have been better? Yeah, it could have been a lot better. But passable. Yes. And I think they're trying to capitalize on the fact that it was Randy's return back to his hometown. Hey, let's jump into the men's Money in the bank ladder match. There was no women going to the top of the ladder, tossing down a briefcase to one of the guys. Your thoughts on this match? These matches are tough to work. Let me jump right out. I asked you a question. But some of those climbs up the ladder, man, they're just really hard to watch because they were just waiting for that guy to come get him. And then at the beginning, when Baron Corbin jumps Shinsuke and Nakamura and Shinsuke's out for what, 15, 20 minutes of the match and then comes back. Wade, give me your take on this.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I ultimately like the match because they took fewer chances than I think they usually take in Money in the bank match. So, you know, like, some people are just, like, put all the spots in there you can. Who cares how the wrestlers feel afterwards? And if it cuts years off their career? That's not how I watch wrestling. I mean, I want every chance that's taken to count. And I understand it's a dangerous business. I could not do what wrestlers do, and I readily admit that. But I think when they do take chances, there's always a chance something goes wrong. But that's a reason to not take excessive chances. Make every spot, every bump, every rip risk, make it count for something. I thought they dialed back in a way that worked in this case because

[Steve Austin]

I enjoyed everything about the match. I enjoyed it. There was a couple of kind of like, not real holy shit bumps, but I mean, a couple of major bumps. When, dude, when you're putting your. I'm sitting here, I've been through, you know, my share of matches, but when I'm sitting there thinking, okay, yeah, it was a pretty safe match for the most part, man, anything could go wrong. So, man, I'm just. I live and die by each one of these crazy things that they do, so. So it was structured well, told a pretty damn good story. I really enjoyed it, and I was glad, as you were, that the guys just didn't go haywire with the danger factor. But let's talk about the finish. And finally, Nakamura comes back in a little bit of a house of fire. I really need to see. I really want to see more out of this guy. Ultimately, let's talk about Baron Corbin so we can move on and brush across Monday night Raw and Smackdown. Baron Corbin climbs to the top and wins Money in the Bank. Your thoughts on that? Is he ready for this kind of push right here, right now?

[Wade Keller]

I think everything with Baron Corbin since getting called up has been a little ahead of the ideal schedule, but I think there are things he does so well that I'm not at all against him having this. I liked his parade around the ring on Tuesday night, taunting Jinder, his body language, his promos. I, I believe that is. You know, I talk about Seth Rollinsman as a heel, how I just imagined he was a guy who, when he showed up every year at the dmv, people remembered him and they're like, oh no, not this guy again. And I believe that, like, and I didn't want anything to contradict that image. Baron is good about that. Like, I buy that this is who he is. He's not putting on a show, he's not doing the ginger snarl where you sort of think, oh, that's a pro wrestling thing. And so I like him, I like his act, I think he's improved in the ring and I think he was the right guy to win this match. So I like that. Performance wise, I would say it would have been good for him to study how to climb a ladder before entering a ladder match because there was one point in the match where he put one foot on a rung and then looked completely confused about how to put a second foot on it because of what you said. He was waiting for somebody to attack him. And I mean, you know, that could be someone else's fault, not Corbin's, but that's one of the things that just sort of.

[Steve Austin]

But then when you're in that, when you're in that spot though, hey, you just got to start climbing that match and you ain't got to sprint up that thing like Usain Bolt running 100 meters. But you've got to get your ass up there because you've got to protect yourself. And if no one stops you, then fiddle fuck around with the briefcase once you get up there. But get up there in some type of fashion so that you don't look like a three toed sloth. So it's moments like that that you're thinking, God dang, I was buying in. These guys are killing themselves out there. They're working their ass off to make me buy in. And then someone does that slow crawl and I'm thinking, okay, well fuck it, right? When I was buying in, I got to buy back out because, you know, I'm not believing this shit. Now here's the thing to your point of you like the kid's look, he's not. The snarl seems to be well suited where he is now. Wade, if you're going to start Putting this guy in single situations, or dare say he. Cash and that money in the bank and become the champion. Boy, he's got a lot of pressure on him. The pressure is not in carrying the briefcase. He still needs to work on his singles matches, which don't jump off the page as something you've got to see every single week yet, because he's still pretty damn green. And I'm a fan of the kid, so I'm saying this with respect. I've been there. But all of a sudden, you know, you put a spotlight on this kid, he could potentially be the champion. So if he. If he does become the champion, you know, it's like when they put that title on gender, you know, put. Just getting a title put on you does not necessarily make you. It can all. It can be good for the resume, but it doesn't necessarily make you.

[Wade Keller]

You have to be, I think, causes fans to look at you with more scrutiny. Like, if.

[Steve Austin]

Absolutely. It can expose you. Yes, sir. It can absolutely expose you. So, you know, when people say, hey, man, you know, gender. He was. He was doing favors, and now all of a sudden, he's world champion, you know, so he's got to bring himself up to represent that belt in the best regard possible. So, anyway, interesting win for the kid. We'll see what he does with this briefcase opportunity as the story unfolds. But just from hearing your side, you are interested in this story and you want to see how it proceeds forward.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I mean, I don't think everybody who wins money in the bank has to win the world title, but I think at least we're on a journey with him right now. You know, you're looking at him differently

[Steve Austin]

and the spotlights on him. So this is a push. It's like. It's like winning King of the Ring. It's a push.

[Wade Keller]

Yep, that's what I think. Yeah. Money in the bank has become the 90s version of King of the Ring. It's. It's basically Vince McMahon sending a message to the fan base. I got my eye on this guy. I'm gonna give him some opportunities. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You know, I mean, you know, Billy Gunn got that chance, and it didn't translate to anything huge. And. And you and Triple H, you know, when the timing is right, Bret Hart, it can lead to something. I think I put money on him succeeding and being a money draw for years to come, but he can't stop working at getting better because I think the scrutiny is going to increase. And fans are discerning now. I mean, there is a big part of the fan base and I did that. Met statistical breakdown last week on pwtorch.com breaking down the demos. A lot of fans tuned out after Jinder won that number one contendership match on SmackDown. SmackDown was ahead of year ago numbers and Raw was way behind and there was a reason for that and now it's gone now. They lost that advantage they had over the ratings a year ago and it coincides with Jinder getting a push. I think fans feel a sense of ownership and a sense of obligation for the promoters to push the people who deserve it the most. That's why Ellsworth finish the lotta finish the gender push. I think Baron Corbin's more equipped than any of them to not look bad in this situation, but he's got to work hard to make sure that he doesn't take anything for granted because the fans can make or break you. And I think they're showing that vocally right now.

[Steve Austin]

And it will be interesting from a stylistic standpoint of what Barron does in the ring because a lot of guys doing this fly around stuff and it's almost like everybody's working a lot faster than they used to. Baron is not that guy. So, I mean, he needs to really stuff it up with a tone of violence or an offensive. Not. He doesn't need a million moves. I didn't. But he needs to be able to dictate some type of style. And what's refreshing, what could potentially be refreshing is this guy is not going to be working like 75% of the rest of the roster.

[Wade Keller]

And it's worked for Braun Strowman, it's worked for Samoa Joe, Roman, Reigns. Even you can say it's worked for him. I'm not worried about Baron doing a different style because he's got the sock.

[Steve Austin]

No, I'm looking forward to it. That's my point.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah. Yeah. That's what I'm. Yeah. It's like I like people who say, oh, he can't keep up with aj. It's like he doesn't have to keep up with aj.

[Steve Austin]

No. He just needs to be a real good, effective version of himself.

[Wade Keller]

Yes. And. And it's the argument I think both you and I agree on with Luke Harper. It's like, don't. You're not a mat wrestler and you're not a dive guy. You're up. You're a big man, badass wrestler. And that's where the focus of his style should be. Baron Corbin wrestles his size. And so I think it can work. And I want that. I don't want everybody doing, you know, whatever you want to call it. Indie style, cruiserweight style, AJ style style. I don't want that. I want diversity. Braun Strowman and showing how effective that can be. So's Samoa Joe, and like I said, so is Roman Reigns. So Baron, I think, gets it and wrestles his size and style. And I like the size, the style mix up or the styles, the contrasting styles of a bigger guy working his style versus a smaller guy. So again, I endorse it, even in the context. I think it's a good spot. I didn't have. I hedged a little bit, and it was a conversation piece on Nakamura being knocked out early and then coming back late. You don't want him to have the rep of being favored. Oh, we're protecting him from taking the ladder spots that everybody else had to take. But as a new character, I sort of see merit and framing the match. So he gets a big pop when he, despite the beatdown and despite being in pain, re enters the match and then has a spotlight memorable moment with AJ that then leads into the finish. I see the positives of it. I think there was some risk to even having him just sit out the match, take, you know, take the proverbial nap while everyone else is working hard. And people paid to see him, and they got cheated out of that. But ultimately I thought that it made Shinsuke seem more special, not just being another guy in the mix for the whole length of the match. How did you feel about that?

[Steve Austin]

Well, I would have liked to see him in the match because I've seen a lot of his stuff in New Japan. I've seen him, you know, work several matches. I'd like to see more of the guys, so I'd like to see him in a setting with all the other guys doing the same shit because he doesn't have to be the guy climbing up a ladder, taking crazy bumps, But I want to see him out there working and doing work. And like you said, they set the stage for him to shine and do these big moves on everybody. Yeah, that was great. Me, I would have preferred to see him in the match, but it ended up like it did. Baron Corbin with the win. Give me your highs or your takeaways from Raw and smackdown.

[Wade Keller]

Well, why don't we start? Even though it's out of order, why don't we start with smackdown? Just because we're in the flow on Money in the bank, you know, because Smackdown was the follow up on that. They didn't do a lot with Baron Corbin because he just, you know, did a lap around the ring to taunt Jinder. But I thought that was fine.

[Steve Austin]

I didn't like that because I thought it mirrored what Carmela had done the day before right after she won. And so it was like, okay, Carmella parades around. And again, I'm a fan of Carmella. I like what she did with the promos. Okay, they took the money and they took the briefcase from her. But then I thought it was just kind of, you know, same old, same old. Here comes Baron, and here's a guy who's what, 6 4, 6, 5 killer? And he's going to stroll around the ring and taunt he's going to cash it. I didn't buy it.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I make a good argument.

[Steve Austin]

Go ahead.

[Wade Keller]

So we got Shinsuke Ziggler again, and they went about 17 minutes. Thought it was a good match. But my. I mean, you're a fan of Shinsuke. People who have seen Shinsuke outside of WWE and his Sami Zayn match, and, I mean, it's like there's something there that just everyone's like, I'm so excited for him to get to the main roster. I'm not sure that going back and forth, even if he got 70% of the offense going back and forth with Dolph Ziggler, who is. Takes really good bumps, made Shinsuke look good, got in, he looks crisp. He's a good worker. But from a kind of narrative context standpoint, it makes Shinsuke. It brings him down to one notch above Dolph by having to fight really hard for 17 minutes to beat him. And it's not like they told the story of Dolph on a hot streak, and now he's going to face this big test in Shinsuke. It just was a match thrown out there to give Shinsuke 17 minutes to get himself over. I thought it was good, but I still get nervous about Shinsuke seeming ordinary.

[Steve Austin]

I think it made him seem ordinary because when you say, yeah, I'm a fan of Shinsuke, but I'm also a fan of Dolph Ziggler. But right now, due to the fact that as long as he's been there, however they pushed him, he'll baby, you know, gas pedal break. Gas pedal break. He goes out there with the king of strong style, and they start off with this kind of chain wrestling stuff. But it's. It's almost that, you know, somebody's got to snug something up. Some of those reversals on the waist locks just. That's just transition moves. Grab a headlock, sink it in. And those, they'll make that hand into like a knife edge as they're kind of, you know, got that headlock locked in. It's almost like it's not fake wrestling. It's just that going through the motions kind of cliche wrestling. It's like, snug it up. Grab you. I got my. Both. I got my hands locked in here. Grab a hold, God damn it, and give me some physicality. And we know Shinsuke can be physical as hell because he comes from a shoot background. Dolph can work his ass off. He's a former amateur wrestler. Fucking give me some real snugged up wrestling. And on the other side of that, don't sit there and make the snug up stuff look like it's so snug because you're straining so hard, but you're barely squeezing. It's a real fine line there, Wade. And I don't know if you understand what. What I'm talking about, but it's just that switcheroo stuff that. It's just you're putting in some time. They give you 17 minutes. You didn't need 17 minutes. Go out there. Because I know the guys can wrestle. They can do those switcheroos. Give me some fucking high spots. Maybe all of a sudden, shinsuke, he'll explode. 1, 2, 3 moves in slow face, slow fashion. He'll do the faces. Okay, but I want to see, God dang bam, give me some action. Because if you notice, people got us sitting back on that match. You know, if you say, was it a good match or a bad match? It was a good match, but it was just like the one on the pay per view they had. Doesn't make me clamor to see Shinsuke in action again. He's got this mystique, but the mystique isn't really getting built. It's kind of coming down.

[Wade Keller]

And he hasn't. They haven't issued for him, or he hasn't issued a mission statement. And I think a new guy with his credentials and resume needs to arrive and have a mission. I mean, the wrestling I grew up with, if a new guy arrived on the scene, I mean, if he was a big deal, he pretty much declared what he was there to do. If it was a heel, it was to take the championship, you know, back to. Back to the Middle east, or it was to take it to, you know, win it on behalf of Bobby Heenan. And they're gonna celebrate and party like. Or if it's a baby face, you know, whole coach showed up with a mission in the AWA to take the championship from Nick Bockwinkle, and it was just like, boom. That's his focus. Shinsuke just sort of showed up, and he's just kind of floating around aimlessly. And I don't think the language barrier is an excuse. Why is he here? Tell us that. He conquered Japan. He was a legend there. It was a big decision to leave home. He could have come to WWE anytime in the last five, 10 years. He was that good. He decided to. To leave his family, come to the. Come to WWE and prove against the best that he is the best and put him on a mission where his matches count and. And there's this aura about everything that he does that's special. Making him ordinary means he's just going to be ordinary and he's. He. His ceiling should be higher than that. So, yeah, I just. I'm. I remain hopeful and somewhat optimistic. Eventually we'll get there. But 17 minutes with Dolph to just. And like you said, what. What you described is what I want to see if two babyfaces wrestle. Like, oh, we're kind of testing each other out. And, you know, you wait for things to kind of get heated where someone snaps and loses, loses their temper a little bit. But yeah, be snug, be tight. Fight with a mission, and you're not getting paid by the minute. And Shinsuke looked like he was getting paid by the minute there.

[Steve Austin]

I'm coming right back with Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Torch Apostles sponsors to keep his show on air twice a week for free. Two cans of audio Whoop ass for fucking nothing. Coming right back with Wade Killer. Hey, if you're in the market for a car, then you need to check out TrueCar. TrueCar gives you the price and information you need to feel confident about your purchase. When you register with TrueCar, you will see what other people in your local area pay for the car you want. And from there, you can connect with a local TrueCar certified dealer and enjoy a more confident car buying experience. TrueCar shows you real pricing on actual inventory, so you see competitive pricing offered to you by TrueCar certified dealers for vehicles that are actually on their lots. And you will also see all the dealer incentives before you get to the lot so you can feel confident about the price when you show up. TrueCar makes car buying easy, no matter if you're looking for a brand new or used vehicle and the Stats do not lie. Over 3 million cars have been sold to TrueCar users by the TrueCar Certified Dealer Network. There are over 13,000 dealers in that network with some 700,000 pre owned vehicles available. So do yourself a favor and go to TrueCar for your next car buying experience. TrueCar doesn't just make the process easier, it'll also save you some money. TrueCar users save an average of over $3,000 off MSRP. So when you're ready to buy a new or used car, visit TrueCar to enjoy a better car buying experience. Some features not available in all states.

[Wade Keller]

Steve Austin. Steve Austin Unleashed. Unleashed.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, smackdown. What else jumped across at you?

[Wade Keller]

What do you think of the Jinder Mahal Luke Harper match?

[Steve Austin]

Last thing I want to get. I got a ton of respect for Dolph, Ziggler and Shinsuke. Just these matchups. The way that they're telling to go out there and do these matches, that. That's the part where the disconnect is for me, I'm not shading those guys at all.

[Wade Keller]

I think they fulfilled their mission.

[Steve Austin]

I wanted to put that out there because I'm a big Dolph fan and that's total.

[Wade Keller]

I mean, that's totally fair because like, if. If that were any, if there was in a different circumstance and two guys went out and did a 17 minute match in a different context, it's fine. You know, like, that's what they were told to do. And they did a good, good job filling 17 minutes.

[Steve Austin]

Other than like snug it up. I mean, for real, snug it up. Okay.

[Wade Keller]

Look like you're fighting, not performing and not feeling time. But that said, I mean, Dolph. Dolph was. Dolph is always really good, but it just wasn't the match that Shinsuke needed right now. I think that's my point.

[Steve Austin]

I think that's a good point.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

Okay. Harper versus gender.

[Wade Keller]

Gender in the main event. They just. I like a world champion being in the last match on a show because I think if a world champion wrestles, it should be framed as a big deal. It's like respect the Office. Not that. Not necessarily the Office Holder, even if he's a heel and even if fans haven't bought in. Still, if a champion wrestles on tv, I think you make a big deal out of it. I needed more backstory, though, of why Luke Harper got this match and what it meant to him. We got nothing on this show that gave me any reason as a fan to invest in Luke Harper as Jinder's Opponent, it came across as filler because of it. And I think they sold the match short, man.

[Steve Austin]

I'm just here in my notes, I have that Baron Corman comes out and teases the money in the bank thing. I said that was redundant. Yeah. The match is okay. Yeah. To your point. Yeah. Why does you get that? Why did you get the match? You're talking about the world champion. So how did it happen?

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I mean, I'm glad it was not title, but still. I mean. Yeah, it should be.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, that was about. That was a non title match.

[Wade Keller]

I'm. I don't think they ever set the titles on the line.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, well, regardless, I mean, if it was a non title match, why did it happen? That is your world champion and these two guys to have no back history. Yeah. Correct.

[Wade Keller]

Yep.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, so, I mean, that doesn't make sense right there.

[Wade Keller]

Well, so they did it is because they wanted Randy Orton to come out and beat up gender, you know, so they work backwards from that and they didn't do a good job making sense.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, but there needs to be more logic on the setup of why those two were in the ring together.

[Wade Keller]

I agree.

[Steve Austin]

Because if that doesn't have any foundation, then, you know. Yeah, I can see that why you want Randy to come out there. But there has to be sound foundation for why these two were in the ring fighting to begin with. Because as the world champion and as a heel, you've got the ability to be the biggest prick in the world to say, hey, why would I want to wrestle this guy?

[Wade Keller]

Yeah.

[Steve Austin]

You know, what did he do to earn a shot at me? Why would I want to wrestle him for a non title match? Because all of a sudden the commissioner comes out there and says, oh, you're going to wrestle this match? I need more than that.

[Wade Keller]

I do too. I think they book backwards. They're like, how do we get Randy and Jim? How do we let Randy show that he's worked up and fired up over what happened with his dad and the way that he lost Sunday night? Well, we'll have him beat up Jinder. Well, how do we have him beat up Jinder? Well, we could do a promo. I have to do a match against two. Well, Harper's not doing anything and that's where it ended. It's like, no, that's just the beginning. Give us, you know, and plan a couple weeks ahead, ideally. And have Luke Harper kill somebody in the ring, you know, destroy somebody in the ring and have Shane McMahon go, you know what? I've been impressed by Luke Harper lately. I want to see what he can do against the champion. He hasn't earned a title shot, but I want to see if he maybe should be in that conversation. Luke, you got an opportunity of a lifetime next week against gender, non title and build it up, you know, give me some, give me some backstory.

[Steve Austin]

But then again, I mean, if it was going to be ufc, he'd be fighting, you know, a highly ranked fighter, top 10 ranked fighter, to show why or if he deserves that shot. So again, gender shouldn't be the target there. It should be a high ranking guy based on wins and losses, which don't seem to matter anymore. But that should be is if he gets a shot, if he beats this guy. I know it's all about numbers and matchups as far as, you know, ratings, but then to me, there's just not enough logic there. Give me another highlight takeaway.

[Wade Keller]

Well, Danny Bryan, that's the other top thing he promised to address money in the bank controversy with the women he heard throughout the show. They weaved into the show, the women making their case, why, you know, hey there. And they did a really good job, by the way, saying there is no rule that says somebody in an ODQ match, somebody not involved in the match can't unhook the briefcase and hand it to somebody. I mean, they JBL said it Sunday night. It got reiterated on Smackdown on Tuesday night. I mean, Daniel Bryan then walks out and says, I've been talking to Shane and other officials and they told me I have to stick to the rule book. So I'm thinking, okay, Daniel Bryan, he's, you know, likes to follow rules, he might not like it. And then he just arbitrarily decides, nope, I'm gonna take the briefcase. Like, I actually, I mean, ultimately that's what fans wanted Daniel Bryan to do, but I thought they made too strong of a case that Brian had no authority to do that. And I wish that that was addressed better because what it came across as is we're gonna go overboard and making you think Brian's doing something. You don't want to get the pop when he does what you do want. Right? But I thought he was actually too convincing about him not having the authority to do it. So I had some mixed feelings about that. And then he didn't, until later on talking smack, ban James Ellsworth from the match. And I think that should have been in the promo on Smackdown.

[Steve Austin]

I agree with that. That was my biggest thing there. Hey, man. And that would have got the biggest pop right there. And you, by the way, are banned from ringside. Right there.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah. Yep.

[Steve Austin]

It almost looked like. Never mind. I was just wondering if he forgot to. Because, I don't know, it just seemed to step off to me, so.

[Wade Keller]

Or someone hit the music too soon, you know, and he's like, oh, okay, I guess I'm not gonna do it. But, yeah, it felt anti climactic. I did. Like, on Talking Smack, James Ellsworth told Carmela, don't worry, don't worry, I've got a plan. And then Daniel Bryan said, well, I don't know what that plan is, but if it involves you being at ringside, you won't be your band. I wish that was in the segment on smackdown. Agreed.

[Steve Austin]

Because I don't know how. I don't know how many people watch Talking Smack, and they're gonna put that in the package next week to set, you know, the logistics behind that.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, yeah. Otherwise, I don't think there was much else. I mean, we had that little. The Kevin Owens, Chad Gable thing. I mean, it was fine.

[Steve Austin]

I didn't understand what gave. I'm the biggest AJ Styles fan in the world, but what gave gives him the authority to make a Kevin Owens match with Chad Gable?

[Wade Keller]

I agree.

[Steve Austin]

Okay, could just explain to me the logic here so I can buy into it.

[Wade Keller]

I know. That's the thing.

[Steve Austin]

Okay. I didn't know that all of a sudden that the commissioner, whatever you call him or gm, had just said, okay, hey, aj, handle this for us. Go make this match. Because he proved that this kid was allegedly just moved to wherever they were at. I was just like, come on, man. Come on, man. You got A.J. styles, one of the best worker in the company, and he's going out there and ko Who I love, is a Gable kid who's got some potential. And all of a sudden, AJ's out there making this match, and all of a sudden, before you know it, there's a suplex on ko. The match starts, and you've got your champion out there looking not in the best light because he's not being treated like a champion, because as a universal champion, he was. Aj, what authority do you have, you know, regardless of whether this kid is from here or not, which he wasn't, but to make a match with me. So give me the. Give me what gives him the leeway to do that, Wade.

[Wade Keller]

Well, see, and I think it's an easy fix because there isn't. I mean, there's no way to. There's no way to fix it or make sense of it. As they did it. But AJ could have come out and said, I know someone from Dayton, Ohio. He's a new, you know, little tongue in cheek. He's a new resident. But I don't think you'll. I. You're a fighting champion. Kevin Owens. You're not gonna not fight somebody on a technicality. Right? And Kevin Owens can look like, oh, crap, I've got. I've cornered. You know, I can't back out of this. And then you do that, and then. Or you. Or even at the very end, they do everything the same way they did it. And then at the end, Kevin Owens. All Kevin Owens had to do is just say, I don't care. I can beat this guy whether he lives here or not. Bring it on. Ring the bell. Have him. I mean, it is just Chad Gable, and I have high hopes for him. But at this stage, Kevin Owens should not be scared to fight Chad Gable. So in the end, have Kevin Owens roll his eyes, throw his hands up and go, fine, I'll pretend he lives here. Let's fight. It's okay for a heel to accept the challenge, but at least then, logic wise, he has accepted the match. It's not forced upon him because AJ said so.

[Steve Austin]

You know what? Hey, kid, you know what? You don't have a chance against me. I know you're not from here. This is. This is bs Stiles has no authority. But because, hey, we're here in this shithole, I'll go ahead and wrestle you, and then you go out there and you take over on the kid. This is the old. This is just like Damn near Flair vs Lawlor years ago, man. All of a sudden, you make this kid and then you fucking crush him. And so then you get over, the kid gets to shine and you don't look like a doofus. And it wasn't on KO but that was the company that made him put him in that spot because of the storyline. So, yeah, you can accept the challenge. Yeah, AJ can go out there and stir the shit a little bit, because it's not like with an authority type thing of, hey, man, you're a fighting champion. And all of a sudden, Kale grease to it to some of the points you just made, but you can do it, but just do it in a little bit different fashion.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I agree.

[Steve Austin]

Okay.

[Wade Keller]

That's about all from smackdown, though. I mean, there's, you know.

[Steve Austin]

Okay,

[Wade Keller]

so, yeah, Raw I thought was a low. It was a big show. I thought it was a real memorable show with what they did in terms of Brock And Joe and Lesnar and Braun especially, they put a lot out there. And then he had the other big A topic from Raw was the reveal of Enzo and Cass. We can start either place.

[Steve Austin]

I like the heel turn by Big Cass.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, let's talk about that. Because Kurt Angle says, you know, this is months of planning. Well, months of backstory. Who knows how planned it was? But, you know, we had backstory to work with. And Enzo and Cass both were jumped, apparently, backstage, and Kurt Angle wants to investigate and solve it. It was a teaser. It led to an improvement in the rating. They went back up to where they were two weeks ago, up from a real, real low point last week. And Enzo and Caswalk out there. And then Corey Graves is the one who actually comes up with the incriminating security footage that was secretly taped of Cass faking that he was attacked from behind to throw the scent off of him. And once he was caught, then he revealed, yeah, I've been messing with you, Enzo, because I want to see how dumb you were, and I want to see if you catch on and you didn't. But now I have no problem saying, I'm sick and tired of you. And, I mean, obviously cut a better promo than I just did. They're recapping it, but, yeah, I liked it. I thought the emotion in that promo between Enzo and Cas felt real, too. Like, I felt like these were two guys who had a history who were actually breaking up, and there was some emotion there. Enzo showed it and was supposed to. Cas showed it. I don't think he was supposed to, but I thought it all added up to a really good segment.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I enjoyed it. I didn't know about how Corey Graves just happened to have, from the announce position, the footage. That line.

[Wade Keller]

People like to tell them things. That was his line a couple weeks ago.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, but. So I'm not going to sit there and argue that point, but I thought it was really effective. I thought the guys did a great job, you know, didn't see it coming. And big cast. Sometimes you think, hey, man, this guy's, like, got a lot of potential. But then, you know, can he live up to it? He really lived up to this. And, you know, with the fact that he considered Enzo deadweight as a guy that's holding him back from being a big star, I really liked it. Enzo, like you said, it was emotional. And so now I want to see where they go from here. And it will be interesting to see how big Cass shoulders these responsibilities of being a single and turning Heel. And I'm excited about this opportunity for him, and I'm excited to see what they do with Enzo. But I thought it really came across as a great segment because two years

[Wade Keller]

ago, Cass and NXT looked like a deer in headlights when he was on the microphone. And so we were talking. Yeah. So this progress is encouraging. And we talk about Baron Corbin moving forward and having a spotlight on him as money in the bank holder. I thought that was a. I was very encouraged by Cass being able to show that edge in that I believed that he was a bad guy who was willing to just cash in a friend in order to advance his career. I think that's a good heel. I'm optimistic about him. I mean, I don't know what the ceiling is, but it's. Again, we're on a journey to see what that is. And that's what I love about watching wrestling. Great matches are great. Seeing wrestlers like Cas or Baron Corbin under scrutiny get a bigger push and rise to the occasion is also a lot of fun. And I'm looking forward to it after this segment especially.

[Steve Austin]

That was a mouthful of words. You know, for everything that Cas said from everybody, you know, talking about how heavily scripted the promos are, it came off as a shoot, and it didn't look like he was memorizing anything. Words from the heart and there was a lot of verbiage there. So I thought it came across real well. I dug it.

[Wade Keller]

Do you see anything at Enzo, like, where do you see him ending up, I guess is a better word. I mean, he and Cass had a good chemistry and it worked. There was a time to move on. Does he become a heel manager? Does he become a cruiserweight? Does he become Scotty too hotty and just job on tv? Like. I just don't know what his role is now.

[Steve Austin]

No, I think that remains to be seen. But I think the guy, he's got so much charisma. He's such a good talker on the microphone. He's certainly a valuable asset. I just don't know what they do with him. So. Yeah, that's a great question I don't know the answer to, but I like the kids. As far as on the horn, I think he's one of the bright spots in the locker room. So how that ends up playing up, your guess is as good as mine.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah. I hope he's not just discarded, you know, I mean, I hope that come up with something.

[Steve Austin]

No, no, I don't think that's gonna happen. I mean, I wouldn't think that's gonna happen by long shot, but. But I'm curious.

[Wade Keller]

So Roman comes out at the top of the show and I mean, this is like the Roman people talk. On my podcast a week ago Monday, we had four people call who were in the building and two or three of them talked about the dark match with Roman and how he just seemed to be unchained. Like, I get. I get to act how I want, react to the crowd how I want and they like. I like that version of Roman when the red light wasn't on. There was something about him that was more authentic and I don't know if it was intentional or what, but this seemed to be the most authentic response that we ever got to Roman. He got to actually kind of smart off to the fans a little bit and react to their boos and snarl and be kind of, dare I say, heelish, but in a way that maybe the people who are cheering him don't see it as Heelish. They just see it as him standing up for his. For his cause. I don't know, what was your take on his approach? It felt different.

[Steve Austin]

I was. Well, I got on the network and I was watching some of his earlier heel stuff. I just like him as a straight up hill, so.

[Wade Keller]

I do too.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, that's my take.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, it was interesting. I don't know if they're testing those waters or they're just going all in with. We're just going to let him be himself and he's going to be kind of like Brock whoever the best matchup is, face or heel, that's who he'll face. And we'll just ride that for a while. Maybe they can make that work.

[Steve Austin]

I'm just interested in seeing when the full thing happens where it's like either he clicks and gets it all or the writing or the booking or the push all comes right into the laser and he's got this perfect trajectory and he's got a good concept of what's going on. Everybody's on the same page as far as how we're going to. What's the best way to book this guy? And he lights up and really becomes a top, top guy. That's what I'm looking for.

[Wade Keller]

I am too. And I mean, he'd still be one of my top draft picks if I had to, if all wrestlers became free agents and I was a promoter with a billion dollars to spend. I mean, Roman's absolutely top 1, 2, 3 draft pick. He's that talented. But you want to put him In a slot that isn't driving people away or reminding people of him being kind of the corporate chosen one. That, in their mind, is what drove CM Punk, you know, out. So it's just. Yeah, just. It's figuring that out. Joe, though, I think they're figuring out. I mean, Joe, I just. I love what they've done with him, and I thought this week was another really good week for him.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I like Joe. I liked when he got the coquina clutch on Roman and then with the distraction. So I'm looking forward to Great Balls of Fire, I guess. What, July 11th or whatever it is. I'm looking forward to that match. That's because I'm a big Joe fan, and I want to see what kind of match him and Brock decide to put together.

[Wade Keller]

Oh, totally. Yeah. And then the bronze, the match later, it was a big match to give away with Joan Rains. But I just think Vince has to be looking at this and going, first of all, it's kind of a joke. But I also think it's true. People say if you ever. If you make reigns look good, Vince loves you. You know, it worked for aj. It's like, I think Joe is making reigns look good. And I think that is warming Vince to the idea that Joe is someone who he should be thinking about. And the primary tier of guys that he's thinking about, who do I want him to face at WrestleMania next year? Because Vince doesn't have a long list of guys he worries about a lot in that respect, I think Joe might be adding himself to that list of guys that Vince is actually going to book the lineup around.

[Steve Austin]

Well, man, like I've been saying ever since he got brought into WWE and went down there in nxt, I'm like, God dang, bring the guy up. He's one of the best workers that there is. And so you get a guy out there in the vein of aj. Many people didn't think just as far as wwe, that AJ was really going to have a chance to succeed there. Hey, man, all of a sudden, you put that guy out there and just let him do his thing, and he goes to the top because the cream rises to the top. And AJ grabbed the proverbial grass ring when I don't really think they had it in the plans for him until that guy started lighting it up. And so Joe's the same way. He's just a true talent that could work his ass off. You know, you can put a little bit more salt and pepper on his promos. Just a frog's hair. But there's nothing wrong with him. I buy into him, he's legit. I like him, he's a threat, he can work his ass off. So no, I'm happy for Joe and happy with anything that they do with him or for him because I like him and he's legit.

[Wade Keller]

We talked about what wasn't there in that Ziggler Nakamura match and granted there was more of a build up to this in terms of a grudge and the mic work earlier in the show, but I love Joe's facial reactions in this match and even just like Reigns arm dragging out of the coquina clutch like it was with force, it wasn't. It didn't look like it was for show. It looked like I'm trying to get out of this because I don't want to be in this. Not I'm going to arm drag to make it look smooth. I just like how tight and how intense the match was. And so, yeah, I just, I'm very happy that Joe is getting, like you said, what he deserved the opportunity to prove he could do when given the chance. And then Stroman returned, so that was a big return. He'd been gone for, for a while and I thought he looked good. I. The crowd popped for him. I mean, I'm not quite sure what the reaction is going to be when they wrestle because I think the people who boo Roman like Stroman. So it could be a weird crowd reaction. But Stroman picking up where he left off.

[Steve Austin]

I thought picking up where he left off. The crowd blew the roof off the place for him, which was, you know, I think they're excited to have a guy back because I think that a lot of people, people are like me, they see big things in this guy. On a critical note, man, just too many of the arms up in the air, you know, whether you're baby face or heel, you know, when he exited ambulance, arms up the air ra right there in the middle of doing something with Roman. Arms up in an air ra grabs a microphone, says something. Arms up in an air rah rah. I mean, little too much of that, you know, that's almost, you know, you could, I could take the middle fingers too far. You could take the looking, you know, Hogan waving the ear too much. I just thought, just coming back, you don't need to think. You start looking like a cheerleader out there. So you have to be careful with moments like that. But the crowd was glad to see him back. He was very physical. I'm looking Forward to him, getting him back on track, and we'll see where it goes again. I think this guy has a big money player written all over him. Just don't look like a cheerleader so much.

[Wade Keller]

Did you catch the Elias Sampson segment with Finn Balor?

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, I liked it because, you know, I've only. Some of the guitar playing segments are a little whatever, but just the little bit that I've seen that guy, I like him, but I don't know anything about him.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I mean, he was in development for a while. He did some indie work and I think in the northeast before that. I don't think people who watched NXT thought, this is going to be the breakout star of the summer of 2017. And I don't know that he will be. But I tell you what, if he has matches with Finn Balor, he's gonna have a chance to show what he can do. And I want Finn. I mean, I hope Finn Balor fans aren't panicking because I think it's just he's kind of the odd man out right now in terms of established top guys. But if Finn Balor can make Elias Sampson look like a million bucks and help advance him, I think that'll help Balor and it can help Sampson. I mean, he's got a presence to him. He's got a memorable character. So I'm intrigued by it. You know, I mean, it's week one.

[Steve Austin]

I'm intrigued by it as well, because, I mean, I don't know anything about the guy. Don't know how long he's been in the business, but he's got a good look. The match I saw from him a week two, whenever it was ago, he's mechanically sounding the ring from what I saw. So there's something about him I like. Like the name, the gimmick. So we'll see how it does. If Finn can light anybody up, he's a hellacious worker. So the only thing is those backstage segments with those interviewers are just so forced or set up, staged. And if they just make them a little bit more organic the way the questions are posed, and then of course, they didn't get a chance to just that dead silence at the end because Sampson makes the, you know, from behind, attacks Finn. But just those things could feel a little bit more natural, more like a shoot, more like that person was really a part of the Raw or smackdown team, it would make it a little bit more legit.

[Wade Keller]

Well, I think it would help to just have some interviews be just interviews.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Wade Keller]

Yeah, I mean, just it's okay for someone to interview somebody and not have someone get attacked. You know, like I. My analogy and I don't know if it worked or not that I tried earlier this week on my podcast was in the NFL, not every handoff leads to a 50 yard run down the field. So you got to have those, those lot, the 1 yard losses, the 3 yard gains for the 50 yard breakout to be exciting. And sometimes you just want to watch an interview and have an interview, be an interview so that on the rare occasion that somebody attacks somebody, it seems out of the ordinary and, you know, not normal. And here, you know, you see Finn Balor getting interviewed and you're like, well, this is weird. This doesn't feel. Oh, oh, now I get it. It's because he's going to be attacked. Final kind of big segment of the show is just Seth and Bray. You and I have talked a lot about Bray and Seth both. Now they're feuding with one another. Seth talked about his history with the authority again. He talked about giving into the temptation and having, I guess I don't know if it was exact words, but having an empty feeling when he had all the material possessions and that it wasn't for him. And fans started chanting, you deserve it. Which was odd. You know, you deserve to cheat and get all these material possessions. Like, that's not really what we're going for here, folks. But Seth waited and then he thanked him and then he said he thanked the fans for giving him a second chance. And no material possession can make up for that. And it was all kind of a setup to promote that he's on the COVID of 2K18, the latest video game. And then Bray interrupted. What is Seth finding his way, Steve? Or is he still struggling to figure out what his voice as a babyface is going to be? When people think stone cold Steve Austin, they know what your voice was and what you represented. It was anti Vince. They knew your character. I still don't know that. Seth referencing. Well, I once gave in to temptation, but thanks for giving me a second chance. Now that I'm going to do things the right way. I just feel like he should be past that now.

[Steve Austin]

I agree with you 100%. I have in my notes I like Bray's promo. So, I mean, Seth Rollins saying, you know, I had all the material possessions in the world and all this stuff and the second chance and this is our cover, you know, it just, you know, and maybe this is Seth's voice. This is who and what he is. And so I'm looking forward to seeing matchups with him in the ring with people that do his type of, you know, athletic based sequences in wrestling. As a character, you know, he's Seth Rollins, no more, no less. And that's just calling it like I see it. I think you're seeing who and what Seth Rollins is when he gets in the ring. That's who and what he is on the other side of that promo. Wade, I like Brae's promo because he laughed a little bit at the beginning. He kept it not too long as far as the promo goes. And he said, what, you're going to pay the price or you're going to make a sacrifice, whatever it was. But I just took him as a little bit more serious here. And I don't know, I just like. I like Bray's promo.

[Wade Keller]

One thing that was good specifically is he talked about how Seth claims to be his own man. And he said that now he was conforming to the Authority, but he's still conforming. He's just conforming to what the people want him to be, the universe wants him to be. I like that line because you want the heel to make an argument that as a viewer, you think makes sense to the heel. Now, ultimately, you want a strong enough babyface to counter that. But I don't know that Seth saying, I'm not a man, I'm the man. I don't know that that is a comeback saying I'm the man. It's like Seth frickin Rollins. What does freaking mean? What does that. It's just abstract. So I thought Bray was stronger here in cutting down Bray by saying, you can wear the clothes of a good, honest man, but deep down you're not that man. It gave Seth something to prove otherwise, but I don't think he did a good job verbally countering that. And I do think Bray kind of won this debate, so to speak, if you were to judge it as such.

[Steve Austin]

Yeah. So it was an interesting setup. Any final takeaways as we have reached the one hour mark?

[Wade Keller]

No, no, we're just at 15 minutes, Steve. We're just going to be. We're just going to be in denial.

[Steve Austin]

What a rib.

[Wade Keller]

What a great job we did keeping it to 15 minutes this week.

[Steve Austin]

This is the biggest rib in sports entertainment, but it's always fun talking to you. And we actually tried to keep it short, but then again, we're trying to talk about a pay per view, a Monday Night Raw, and a Tuesday Smackdown. So, I mean, there was a lot to discuss and we only really kind of glossed over some of the highlights or the takeaways.

[Wade Keller]

Well here. Yeah, I mean this was a bigger week than normal. I mean this was not the best week to try to trim it down to 15 with a pay per view, a very eventful Raw, and then some pretty significant follow up on Smackdown. I don't think there's anything else that we missed that's, I mean, the Bears, you know, Bo and Curtis.

[Steve Austin]

No, we're not going to do that. But the fact that we did go an hour and usually on a big pay per view or at a television tape and they'd be giving you the go home cue. This is my show. It's a Steve Austin show. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And people like when we talk wrestling, I got a chance to listen to 45 minutes of call ins before I got to you. But when we start shooting the shit, we're just shooting the shit. Any thoughts or Wade before we sign off? Please tell people how they can find you on social media and everything that you do for the pro wrestling industry and MMA.

[Wade Keller]

Absolutely, yeah. Mmatorch.com, we're running stories on Mayweather and Conor McGregor which you and I talked about last week at the end of the show, so check it out. Mmatorch.com, daily news updates, live event coverage, fight previews. The main thing that I do that's similar to this is podcasting and four days a week I do a post Raw show, a post Smackdown show, midweek flagship where we talk about a broad array of issues and then Interview Thursday and you can find all those shows at interview PWTorchLivecast.com that's PWTorchLivecast.com I also write news updates and we got a whole and cover Ron Smackdown live in written format while the shows air. Same thing with pay per views. You can find my written reviews along with a whole array of great contributions from a great team of [e-mail] and then the fourth final thing is our membership. You can find out information on becoming a member and having 15 plus podcasts per week, most of them that I'm part of with a VIP membership. Full details Whole rundown access to 30 years of archives of podcasts and newsletters. It's fascinating to dive into the archives and read what we're writing at the time that maybe you first became a fan. Full details on [e-mail] govip that's pwtorch.com govIP would love to have you as a customer. So if you like what I do here on Steve Shelf. So I do a lot more of it throughout the week.

[Steve Austin]

Good talking to you, Wade.

[Wade Keller]

Thank you, Steve, very much.

[Steve Austin]

All right, everybody, give me the Go home Q. It's time to wrap up his podcast and ride off into the sunset. But before I do, I want to thank Wade Keller, the Pro Wrestling Torch for joining me on the podcast today. I was originally going to air the phone calls that I took in the studio a couple of Saturdays ago from you guys. I appreciate all the phone calls. Me and Wade spun way out of control. It was a damn good time spending some time talking about Monday night Raw and Smackdown. I love to talk about pro wrestling. I love what happens inside the squared circle. I love the angles, I love the storylines. I love to see who's getting over, how they're getting over, what they're doing, what they're saying, how they're working. I like pro wrestling, so it's fun to talk about it. I'm going to air the first session of phone calls coming next Thursday on the Unleashed show. Wade will be down to a 15 minute slot and we're going to have fun and chop it up in short fashion. I could talk to that guy all damn day. Thank you, Wade for being on the show. Look forward to talking to you next week and more in the future. Hey man, I got to give you guys something to watch. And what I was watching on the WWE Network, it caught my eye was Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe the pull apart in slow motion. Man, it was a pretty damn epic pull apart. Those things can be clusterfolks if not executed in the proper fashion. Both of these guys were hotter than hell. That superkick towards the end right there when Samoa Joe tagged Brock and Brock just had this look on his face like, oh, motherfucker, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. I tell you what, great execution on everybody's part. I look forward to seeing these guys have a badass match. Samoa Joe is one of my favorite workers and Jesus Christ, Brock Lesnar, goddamn, this is going to be a hell of a match. I'm looking forward to it. Brock Lesnar is a bad sombitch, so I'm looking forward to that. Check that out. If you're on the WWE Network, check out that segment where Randy Orton catches that RKO on Jinder Mahal. That was a great spot and I enjoyed Fandango and Tyler Breeze. That segment was damn good too. I like the Mojo Raleigh interview and catch that on the highlight package as well. And check out that Sami Zayn promo as well. I like that fire in there. And so there was a bunch of little segments that you can watch on WWE Network and this ain't no plug. This is some shit that I really enjoyed. So it was fun talking about it. Anyway, let me wrap this motherfucker up. I got some T shirts over at prowess and t's.com steveaustin we're about to start filming here in July. We're gonna come up with some more. They're pretty badass in my opinion. Best damn IPA on the planet is Broken Skull ipa and you can get Broken Skull IPA at Whole Food and Total Wines if you live in California. If you ain't in Cali, check insidethecellar.com and see if they ship to your state. And you can find everything Steve Austin related, including the cold steel Broken Skull knife and the working Man's Knife at broken skull ranch.com youm can also check out the commercial spots I shot for the Kawasaki Mule Pro FXR and the Kawasaki Mules on my website. If you just go to Home page and scroll down to the bottom, I had a lot of fun doing those. The Kawasaki Pro Effects Pro FXT Pro FXR and the Mules are badass. I enjoy riding them. I want to say one more time thank you to all you people for calling into the studio the other day. And I also want to say thank you to all the fine sponsors of the Steve Austin show, because that's how I'm able to do this podcast for you twice a week for free. And you can find all of my [e-mail] just click on the Killer Deals button at the top of the page and then click on the Steve Austin show banner. Hey folks, keep listening. The 62nd AP news headlines are coming up next and until then, my name is Steve Austin and I will catch your ass down the road.

[Wade Keller]

Thanks for listening to Steve Austin Unleashed.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

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