WWE Raw Review: KO Demands Zayn to Have His Back, Punk Threatens Hogan, Ripley & Nia's Feud Heats Up, Saturday Night Main Event Matches

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<v Speaker 1>I step sixteen sous just rough your ass is.
<v Speaker 2>My arm, you can acknowledge me. Welcome to the Monday
<v Speaker 2>Night Raw Review. Everybody. It is the twenty first day
<v Speaker 2>of January twenty twenty five. It's a Tuesday, and we're
<v Speaker 2>gonna talk Monday Night Raw, so you can hear my
<v Speaker 2>voice this kind of back still not quite there another
<v Speaker 2>couple of days. I think I'll be back in back
<v Speaker 2>in the saddle. But I don't want to thank you
<v Speaker 2>guys for joining me here as we are gonna go
<v Speaker 2>through Monday Night Raw and the best that I can anyway,
<v Speaker 2>and go through a segment by segment, not everything, but
<v Speaker 2>the big points. It's a two and a half through
<v Speaker 2>hour show, so if you are new here, we don't
<v Speaker 2>go through every nook and cranny of the show, but
<v Speaker 2>definitely hit on the topics that most people are talking about,
<v Speaker 2>and we do the best we can to analyze it.
<v Speaker 2>I'll give you my thoughts about it, and maybe you
<v Speaker 2>agree or disagree, but the biggest the biggest deal is
<v Speaker 2>that you're here and I appreciate it. And if you
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<v Speaker 2>also follow us on x okay x which is Wrestling
<v Speaker 2>Underscore audio, or search the WWE podcast. So let's dive
<v Speaker 2>right in. I know that we have a Saturday Night
<v Speaker 2>main event show this coming week on Saturday, obviously, and
<v Speaker 2>it's kind of like a ple or it's in between
<v Speaker 2>a regular televised show on a pl The last one
<v Speaker 2>that was done had pretty good reviews, I mean, because
<v Speaker 2>the bar wasn't too high and you had some good wrestling,
<v Speaker 2>and that's kind of what Saturday Night's main event is.
<v Speaker 2>So that's what this will be. I'll give you my
<v Speaker 2>official predictions for that on the Friday Mailbag show, so
<v Speaker 2>a little bit of a combo show and look forward
<v Speaker 2>to that. And if you want to join the Mailbag too,
<v Speaker 2>by the way, you can do that at mailbag at
<v Speaker 2>WWE podcast dot com, so send your emails and thoughts
<v Speaker 2>and whatever else. He got. All right, So let's dive
<v Speaker 2>in a raw though, as it came to us from Dallas,
<v Speaker 2>Texas the American Airline Center, and we had footage earlier
<v Speaker 2>in the day of rear Ripley arriving and Nia Jack's
<v Speaker 2>attacking her and ran her into a wall. Of course,
<v Speaker 2>Adam Pierce does his weekly freak out of getamatic, get medical,
<v Speaker 2>get an ambulance. That's just what he does best. Apparently
<v Speaker 2>it's part of the job description. I mean, Adam Pierce
<v Speaker 2>blows a gasket on a a weekly basis, but I'm
<v Speaker 2>not hammered him for it. It's just funny to see Adam
<v Speaker 2>Pierce every week involved in a pull apart brawl and
<v Speaker 2>that eventually leads to some kind of medical intervention. But
<v Speaker 2>we had Jay Uso come out and Cole stood up
<v Speaker 2>a ringside, he pumped his arms. Barrett called Cole an
<v Speaker 2>absolute goofball and said he was dancing like a drunk
<v Speaker 2>granddad at a wedding. I don't know how inaccurate that is.
<v Speaker 2>It probably is a fairly accurate assessment. Cole then still
<v Speaker 2>slapped hands with Jay, and Jay stood it in the
<v Speaker 2>ring and said he would take home the big one.
<v Speaker 2>On Saturday night's main event, World Everyweight Champion. Gunther comes
<v Speaker 2>out and Gunher assumed Jay was going to say that
<v Speaker 2>he would win the World Everyweight Championship. Jay said yes,
<v Speaker 2>that he would take the belt and hang it up
<v Speaker 2>in his room. Gunther called Jay a funny little man,
<v Speaker 2>and Gunther said Jay looked him in the eye last
<v Speaker 2>week and said he was going to look forward to
<v Speaker 2>facing Jay until he saw him come out and act
<v Speaker 2>like a complete dork and a company mascot. Gunther said
<v Speaker 2>he could just be as well be challenged by Jimmy
<v Speaker 2>who so oh that was great? Uh gut. Theer said
<v Speaker 2>Jay never follows up his words, and he said the
<v Speaker 2>fans are naive enough to believe every word Jay says,
<v Speaker 2>but he doesn't go there. Spoke about Jay showing up
<v Speaker 2>for different people and said that makes him a useful idiot,
<v Speaker 2>and they continue to go back and forth. I'm not
<v Speaker 2>gonna go through everything here. It eventually leads to Gunther
<v Speaker 2>attacking Jay after Jay had mentioned that who's the one
<v Speaker 2>here that main invented WrestleMania, which, yeah, it's true, but
<v Speaker 2>not in a single's capacity. So there's that there. Jay, Okay,
<v Speaker 2>there's a tag team action, but I believe that as it
<v Speaker 2>may be. And we had a you know, some punches
<v Speaker 2>back and forth, a super kick of course to Gunther,
<v Speaker 2>rolled out of the ring, and then Jay picked up
<v Speaker 2>the World Heavyweight Championship and placed it on the mat.
<v Speaker 2>Gunther returned to the apron while Jay encouraged him to
<v Speaker 2>take the title, and Gunther dropped down to the floor
<v Speaker 2>and reached inside the ring and took his championship. Got
<v Speaker 2>of your standard, uh standard build for a championship match.
<v Speaker 2>This is one that I think just a it's a filler,
<v Speaker 2>uh And I don't mean that disrespectfully to Jay, but man,
<v Speaker 2>the timing's not right, the bill isn't right. It's WrestleMania season, man,
<v Speaker 2>and there's just there's just no plans for Jay to
<v Speaker 2>be walking in his World Champion. Gunther's just getting started,
<v Speaker 2>essentially as a world champion. We want to see what
<v Speaker 2>it's like having him bring it into WrestleMania. He's not
<v Speaker 2>gonna lose it on a Saturday Night Man event. So
<v Speaker 2>spoiler alert, Okay, that's not what's at stake here. What's
<v Speaker 2>at stake is who's Gunther's next opponent. I know we're
<v Speaker 2>overlooking Jay, but sorry, we kind of got to here.
<v Speaker 2>We have to Is it Goldberg? I know Goldberg had
<v Speaker 2>teased a couple of months ago trying to get in
<v Speaker 2>the ring, and he mentioned, I don't know it was
<v Speaker 2>a sports center or some kind of college day game.
<v Speaker 2>Not sure he's gonna, you know, essentially target Gunther and
<v Speaker 2>get in the ring one more time. I don't know
<v Speaker 2>who the audience is for this, but if it ends
<v Speaker 2>up being true, I mean, I just I don't see
<v Speaker 2>the value in it. Who has been helped by any
<v Speaker 2>Goldberg return match? Name the person? No one. Goldberg is
<v Speaker 2>fine for a run in spear. Okay, that's it, a
<v Speaker 2>run in spir in some nostalgia, that's all. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>that's just kind of it. And what one thing before
<v Speaker 2>I do continue on that I want to mention because
<v Speaker 2>I know I'm gonna forget. But it's kind of big
<v Speaker 2>news here. So anybody like myself who have been really
<v Speaker 2>looking for any kind of hints that Stone Cold Steve
<v Speaker 2>Auston could be returning not for a match again, but
<v Speaker 2>rather for a just kind of a cameo appearance to
<v Speaker 2>finally stun The Rock. I don't know if it's happening
<v Speaker 2>this year. And the reason I say that is Stone
<v Speaker 2>Cold recently put on his Instagram and probably other outlets
<v Speaker 2>that he had a knee replacement surgery, not a knee surgery,
<v Speaker 2>a knee replacement surgery, like a full knee replacement that
<v Speaker 2>he said he's been putting off for years. He got
<v Speaker 2>it about two months ago, so sometime back in November,
<v Speaker 2>and it's a full year recovery year recovery, so that
<v Speaker 2>means that if you're looking for a Stone Cold Steve
<v Speaker 2>Austin return, even for a that would mean he'd have
<v Speaker 2>essentially five months to recover enough to deliver a stunner.
<v Speaker 2>I know, I keep going back to it, but I'm
<v Speaker 2>so just I'm just so disappointed that this year didn't
<v Speaker 2>include it because it was perfectly set up for it,
<v Speaker 2>and they tease it again this year with The Rock
<v Speaker 2>backstage looking at the Austin's face on a production truck.
<v Speaker 2>So it's possible, but with a full knee replacement, I
<v Speaker 2>don't even know if they'd risk something wacky happening where
<v Speaker 2>Austin doesn't obviously take any bumps at all, just hits
<v Speaker 2>a stunner and leaves. I mean, maybe there's not a
<v Speaker 2>lot you need to do with your knees. You just
<v Speaker 2>kind of give a pretend kick, Okay, so you got
<v Speaker 2>to just kind of give him a waist high kick
<v Speaker 2>at least the motion of a kick, and then you
<v Speaker 2>land on your ass. So I mean, maybe I'm understating
<v Speaker 2>it and not thinking of the nuances of what could
<v Speaker 2>happen here, because Austin obviously has to walk down to
<v Speaker 2>the ring. I doubt it's gonna happen, sadly, But if
<v Speaker 2>you're looking ahead and playing the long game here, perhaps
<v Speaker 2>this is for Austin a maybe a WrestleMania forty two appearance,
<v Speaker 2>all right, he may have here forty one. Maybe you'll
<v Speaker 2>even have a match at forty two. I'm not saying
<v Speaker 2>for sure, but if you're looking and playing the long
<v Speaker 2>game and he gets his leg fixed, hell maybe who knows,
<v Speaker 2>But certainly no match at forty one. Definitely no match
<v Speaker 2>at forty one. In fact, again, even the single appearance
<v Speaker 2>for a stunner is in great question. All right, So
<v Speaker 2>back to reality into the Monday Night Raw review. I
<v Speaker 2>just wanted to share that with you guys, because I
<v Speaker 2>came across it today with Austin's account. So we then
<v Speaker 2>have new Day walking backstage Kofe and Xavier when they
<v Speaker 2>spotted someone and said it's finally someone, Finally someone understands.
<v Speaker 2>The camera pulled back and showed j b L. Kingston
<v Speaker 2>puts some cash in JBL's pocket jacket pocket while he
<v Speaker 2>and Woods spoke about how JBL understands their decision. JBL
<v Speaker 2>said he gets it and said Biggie was charismatic and
<v Speaker 2>now they got rid of him, the fans will pay
<v Speaker 2>attention to them. Kingston and Woods took offence and walked away,
<v Speaker 2>and Ray Asterio then comes out. So JBL kind of
<v Speaker 2>slowly making his way back into the into the fall
<v Speaker 2>that I don't want to see JBL in a match, but.
<v Speaker 1>I don't know.
<v Speaker 2>I'm kind of mixed. I have mixed feelings on JBL
<v Speaker 2>just generally, but anyway, So we then have Bailey. After
<v Speaker 2>Yisterio made his entrance for the mag against Kofe, Bailey
<v Speaker 2>was interviewed by Kathy Kelly in a backstage area and
<v Speaker 2>announced she is officially a member of the raw roster
<v Speaker 2>and she declared for the Women's World Rubbo Match. She
<v Speaker 2>spoke about the champions she could challenge and to that
<v Speaker 2>and I say, sorry, Bailey, L O L. Yeah, last
<v Speaker 2>year was your year. It's nice that they're doing these
<v Speaker 2>interviews with you to kind of shake things up. But
<v Speaker 2>you you know, you're you're still a big name in
<v Speaker 2>the company. But let's be serious here, There's no chance
<v Speaker 2>of you winning none, none, Sorry, Bailey, but fun to
<v Speaker 2>think about if you're a Bailey fan. So, Nia Jacks
<v Speaker 2>then crashed the interview and they had an audio issue
<v Speaker 2>with her. And initially and Jack said she would take
<v Speaker 2>out Tiffany Stratton then she'll win the rumble. Bailey said
<v Speaker 2>she saw what Jack's did to Rhea and dared to
<v Speaker 2>try something like that to her. All right, then we
<v Speaker 2>got the New Day versus I'm sorry, Kofi versus Bravesterio
<v Speaker 2>Xavier was was at ringside. JBL was on commentary. I
<v Speaker 2>have to say JBL is good on commentary. He does
<v Speaker 2>have some talent. I mean, I have enjoyed him anytime
<v Speaker 2>he's on commentary. Generally he's been pretty good. So but
<v Speaker 2>JBL's ripping on Ray and talking about him being a
<v Speaker 2>bad father to Dom call asked if JBL was still
<v Speaker 2>upset by retiring Ray retiring him, and jb L said
<v Speaker 2>he had a fever that night and endangered his own
<v Speaker 2>life by going through with the match. That was kind
<v Speaker 2>of funny. Kingston wrestled in black jeans and sneakers. Really
<v Speaker 2>good to see them changing up their retire and we
<v Speaker 2>had Gray Mysterio beat Kingston in eleven minutes after Ray
<v Speaker 2>hooked him into a pin and got the three count.
<v Speaker 2>So a yeah, surprise victory. I guess really won that.
<v Speaker 2>I just I'm not following this. You want New Day
<v Speaker 2>to get a heat. They had ultra heat after they
<v Speaker 2>turned on Biggie during the New Day celebration, and then
<v Speaker 2>they just kind of went into obscurity. The raw Netflix
<v Speaker 2>thing happened. They took a back seat. There wasn't a
<v Speaker 2>whole lot of talk about them. They were backstage, just
<v Speaker 2>kind of everyone you know, blackballing them, cold shoulder all that,
<v Speaker 2>and they haven't really been put back into the fold
<v Speaker 2>for you know, a month now, and perhaps it'll heat
<v Speaker 2>back up with a potential potential Biggie return at the Rumble,
<v Speaker 2>but right now, it's kind of disappointing how they followed
<v Speaker 2>up here, you know, and having them lose matches, even singles,
<v Speaker 2>is not good. Ray doesn't need a victory. He doesn't
<v Speaker 2>need another victory for the rest of his career. He
<v Speaker 2>can roller skate into the Hall of Fame. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>is lock it up? Throwaway the key. There's there's nothing
<v Speaker 2>more that Ray Maisterio needs to prove, and arguably Kofi
<v Speaker 2>with the run that his team is on, vastly need
<v Speaker 2>that victory more Ray does. But hey, okay, So Ray
<v Speaker 2>then exited the ring and celebrated for a moment before
<v Speaker 2>Woods returned and attacked him. King Sinnon Woods roughed up
<v Speaker 2>Ray until Joaquin Wild and Cruise del Toro run out,
<v Speaker 2>and then King Sinnon Woods run away, But they returned
<v Speaker 2>to ringside and Woods shoved Wild against the ring post
<v Speaker 2>and King Sinnon Woods made their exit, and the crowd
<v Speaker 2>did give them a lot of booze here. But despite
<v Speaker 2>the fact that you had the after the match sore
<v Speaker 2>loser heel attack, which we also saw later in the show,
<v Speaker 2>we'll talk about it. The heel's got to get some victories, man,
<v Speaker 2>What about a sore winner that can exist too? Why
<v Speaker 2>not have a heel win cheat or you know, straight
<v Speaker 2>up whatever, but that's not enough. They want to inflict
<v Speaker 2>more damage. They can still do that, So I don't know.
<v Speaker 2>I mean Tophy and Xavier, I would say, have taken
<v Speaker 2>a step down and a little bit of a back
<v Speaker 2>seat since they're really brilliant heel turn, all right, I
<v Speaker 2>guess it's all about Biggie and if it's not, I
<v Speaker 2>don't know what the endgame is, all right. So we
<v Speaker 2>had a video package recapping Penta winning last week his
<v Speaker 2>debut match over Chad Gable, and we then had Sammy
<v Speaker 2>Zaye backstage, and then we had Cole talk about past
<v Speaker 2>WE events and recalled announcing the winner of the first
<v Speaker 2>season of NXT's reality show, and we had a footage
<v Speaker 2>air of Wade Barrett winning the contest done June first,
<v Speaker 2>twenty ten. Yeah, fifteen years ago. Barrett said, the birth
<v Speaker 2>of WrestleMania and him winning season one of NXT were
<v Speaker 2>two pivotal moments in WE history. Kind of funny comments
<v Speaker 2>here from Wade, and then Sammy's aim is in the ring.
<v Speaker 2>He announced he's in the rumble. Zaye said. Seth asking
<v Speaker 2>if he would help himself for once made him think
<v Speaker 2>about a lot of things. He spoke about his fourteen
<v Speaker 2>year old self and eventually he said he believes he's
<v Speaker 2>every bit as good as the top WWE wrestlers and
<v Speaker 2>said they're all in the match. Zay said the only
<v Speaker 2>difference between them and him is that they've held a
<v Speaker 2>world championship, but he hasn't. He said he doesn't feel
<v Speaker 2>like he needs to compete had that to complete him.
<v Speaker 2>He said the support of the fans has meant more
<v Speaker 2>to him than a world championship could ever mean. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>I don't buy that for a second, bunch of that's bs. No,
<v Speaker 2>nobody believes that support of fans is good. You can't
<v Speaker 2>tell me that people cheering for you means more than
<v Speaker 2>actually holding a world championship. Because here's the thing, your
<v Speaker 2>fourteen year old self didn't just picture you getting cheered
<v Speaker 2>by a crowd. It likely because I remember being fourteen.
<v Speaker 2>I was fourteen once like many of you, And what
<v Speaker 2>do you picture yourself doing holding a world championship? So
<v Speaker 2>don't tell me, don't try to sell me that. Well,
<v Speaker 2>our admiration is more worth more to you than gold. Nonsense.
<v Speaker 2>Stop stop Sammy, please stop the pain. But uh, he
<v Speaker 2>said he doesn't need a world championship. But damn it,
<v Speaker 2>I want it. Well that's fine, that's fine. I mean
<v Speaker 2>you should, I would hope. Kevin Owens then comes out
<v Speaker 2>carrying the Winged Eagle Championship and once he was in
<v Speaker 2>the ring, he looked at Zaye, who said he knew
<v Speaker 2>it was only a matter of time before Owens would come.
<v Speaker 2>Zayne said how Owens wanted to do this, and Owens
<v Speaker 2>asked what he meant Sayin said everyone saw what he
<v Speaker 2>did to Cody for teaming with Roman. Owens excuse me,
<v Speaker 2>then admitted that he was upset initially, but it's not
<v Speaker 2>the same because Zayn and Rain have a lot of history.
<v Speaker 2>Owen said that Rains did a lot of terrible things
<v Speaker 2>to Sammy, and Sammy chose to overlook it, just as
<v Speaker 2>Sammy Zain forgave him for some of the things that
<v Speaker 2>he terrible things he did to him, and he said,
<v Speaker 2>you're a good person. That's who you are, Kevin Owens
<v Speaker 2>to Sammy, and he added that Zayin is his best friend.
<v Speaker 2>This continues here and Owen spoke about main eventing WrestleMania
<v Speaker 2>with Zayn and winning the tag team titles. Owen said
<v Speaker 2>they now can main event WrestleMania for the WWE Championship
<v Speaker 2>if Zaane wins the Rumble and Kevin Owens wins the
<v Speaker 2>championship from Cody Rhodes, which again another LOL moment. Sorry Owen, Owens,
<v Speaker 2>ko ain't gonna happen. I mean, I'd say you have
<v Speaker 2>a slightly slightly higher chance to win the WWE Undisputed
<v Speaker 2>Championship from Cody then does Jay winning it from Gunther.
<v Speaker 2>But that's not saying much given the fact that I
<v Speaker 2>basically gave Jay a zero percent chance. So here's where
<v Speaker 2>it gets fun. Owens said that he'll walk out of
<v Speaker 2>the Rumbles champion because he knows that Sammy Zayn has
<v Speaker 2>his back, just as Zayne had rains his back, and
<v Speaker 2>he knows that if he needs him Sammy, that he
<v Speaker 2>will be there. Good stuff. Good stuff, because it puts
<v Speaker 2>Sammy in an awkward position. They're now on opposing teams,
<v Speaker 2>with one as a heel, one has a baby face.
<v Speaker 2>But can their friendship survive the fact that they're on
<v Speaker 2>opposite teams or does one decide to defect, meaning Sammy
<v Speaker 2>decide to defect to the dark side. I doubt it.
<v Speaker 2>I think they just kind of coexists for the moment,
<v Speaker 2>but it looks like, at least again from what I'm seeing,
<v Speaker 2>in the long term, they could be setting something up
<v Speaker 2>for a Kevin Owens Sammy's Ain match again. Now we've
<v Speaker 2>seen this time and again, but it has been a
<v Speaker 2>little bit of time. Now it's been a minute, as
<v Speaker 2>the kids would say, since we've seen these two lock up,
<v Speaker 2>and they've gone through a lot of character revolution. So
<v Speaker 2>if they went back again to the well of Sammy's
<v Speaker 2>Ain and Kevin Owens, there are some benefits. Number One,
<v Speaker 2>you know that these two on air and offer just
<v Speaker 2>have incredible chemistry. Sometimes the backstage chemistry doesn't translate on
<v Speaker 2>air and vice versa. But the question is, again, what's
<v Speaker 2>the long term game? Is it to get Sammy versus
<v Speaker 2>Kevin Owens at WrestleMania? Is that the endgame? It could be?
<v Speaker 2>But this was it was compelling because you're wondering, what's
<v Speaker 2>Sammy thinking? Is he going to back up say Kevin?
<v Speaker 2>Now my guess is again that Owens is in some
<v Speaker 2>perilous position. He is about to lose the w WE Championship.
<v Speaker 2>Somebody you know, Cody Rhodes goes up and craptures the
<v Speaker 2>belt and he's gonna blame Sammy Zain for not helping him.
<v Speaker 2>I mean you can kind of see that coming where
<v Speaker 2>Owens loses, and had Sammy been there to help him,
<v Speaker 2>Kevin Owens could have won. And then he you know,
<v Speaker 2>Kevin of course isn't gonna take responsibility for himself. He's
<v Speaker 2>going to blame it on others. And that's what this
<v Speaker 2>was for, to set the table for a Kevin Owens
<v Speaker 2>attack I think on Sammy's Ain as early as next week.
<v Speaker 2>So keep an eye out, folks. They could just be
<v Speaker 2>a you know, it could be a roll rumble. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>I don't know where the's going they're going with these two,
<v Speaker 2>but that's my guess, all right. Continuing Nia Jacks versus Bailey,
<v Speaker 2>This match twelve minutes. Hell of a long match, I
<v Speaker 2>gotta say for especially for a Nijacks match. Long match,
<v Speaker 2>and Bailey set up for the Bailey to belly, but
<v Speaker 2>her shoulder gave out and Bailey clipped the back of
<v Speaker 2>Naya's knee. Jacks caught a charging Bailey with a pop
<v Speaker 2>up SAMO and drop and followed up with a sentan
<v Speaker 2>and then hit the annihilator for the win. So Bailey
<v Speaker 2>loses clean here. After the match, Rhea Ripley comes out,
<v Speaker 2>charges the ring, throws some punches, hits over the head butt,
<v Speaker 2>shoulder tackle, more punches, pull apart security Jamie Noble, I mean,
<v Speaker 2>like you know this, the usual suspects come out and
<v Speaker 2>do the pull apart brawl segment. So each each person
<v Speaker 2>got free, each person got a big spot in table,
<v Speaker 2>spots sentans. It ended with jack slamming Ripley's head on
<v Speaker 2>the broadcast table, and then Ripley got up, did a
<v Speaker 2>cannonball dive on Jackson Security and then got on the table,
<v Speaker 2>stood up there with a mic and said, you and me,
<v Speaker 2>Saturday Night main Event. That's it. So yes, we're going
<v Speaker 2>to see these two faces one another, and that's fine.
<v Speaker 2>It's not a new feud again. Saturday Night Main Event
<v Speaker 2>is not designed, at least from what I'm seeing, to
<v Speaker 2>be anything earth shattering, no big returns, no big title changes,
<v Speaker 2>or if that do happen, it's going to be as
<v Speaker 2>rare as a blue moon. And it's meant to be
<v Speaker 2>a very wrestling heavy show, which is totally fine. Every
<v Speaker 2>show doesn't need, especially every pl does not need earth
<v Speaker 2>shattering returns, crazy twists, heel turns. We don't need that
<v Speaker 2>all the time. In fact, the less it happens, the
<v Speaker 2>more it means when it does happen. All right, So again,
<v Speaker 2>good quality match here. And we then got inside the
<v Speaker 2>Judgment Day's clubhouse and we had Chad Gable speak with
<v Speaker 2>Dom and recalled that he said that he could help
<v Speaker 2>him with his lutrador problem. Dom handed him a card
<v Speaker 2>and Gable looked at it and told the other Judgment
<v Speaker 2>Day members that he was off to quote learn the
<v Speaker 2>dark arts of Lucha libre. That was, yeah, my god,
<v Speaker 2>kind of weird but funny, so Gable left. Dom told
<v Speaker 2>liv Raquel, Carlito and JD that it's not a bad
<v Speaker 2>thing to have Gable oh them one and McDonough showed
<v Speaker 2>concern over getting a rematch for the tag titles next
<v Speaker 2>week when Finn Balor won't be there. Dom offered to
<v Speaker 2>take Balor's spot. Morgan assumed he wouldn't or she wouldn't mind.
<v Speaker 2>Morgan told Dom that she hoped his plan would go
<v Speaker 2>better than the one that he had for Rhea Ripley,
<v Speaker 2>and Dom said he knows Morgan isn't mad at him,
<v Speaker 2>but he's gonna make it up to her anyway, and
<v Speaker 2>Morgan said, oh you will before leaving the room. So
<v Speaker 2>got a little bit of a trouble in Paradise story,
<v Speaker 2>nothing that anybody's super invested in. I will say between
<v Speaker 2>Dom and Live, we've seen it kind of play out.
<v Speaker 2>But anytime you have this little like kind of love story,
<v Speaker 2>it does have a place in wrestling. Not all the time,
<v Speaker 2>but these two have had good chemistry on air, and
<v Speaker 2>I don't mind this little like what's the end game
<v Speaker 2>with these two?
<v Speaker 1>You know?
<v Speaker 2>Are they gonna split? Are they gonna stay? Yeah, I'm
<v Speaker 2>just I'm watching. I'm fine. As John Cena would say,
<v Speaker 2>am I entertained? Yeah, yes I am.
<v Speaker 1>So.
<v Speaker 2>Then we had Seth Rollins shown warming up backstage when
<v Speaker 2>Sammy's ain't approached him. Sammy said he appreciated the talk
<v Speaker 2>last week and Rollin's got that and Ronalds got through
<v Speaker 2>to him. Rollin said he heard Zane's comments and he's
<v Speaker 2>almost rooting for him, but he'll throw him over the
<v Speaker 2>top rope if push comes to shove in the Royal rumble,
<v Speaker 2>and Zane said, not if I throw you out first.
<v Speaker 2>Kind of reinforcing the every man for himself you know
<v Speaker 2>attitude that the Royal rubble carries, all right, Penta versus
<v Speaker 2>Pete Dunn or Pete Tune. I want to say pe
<v Speaker 2>Tone every time. I just I can't get that out
<v Speaker 2>of my head now. But as you'd imagine, Penta does
<v Speaker 2>win here in ten minutes, and Penta got the finishes
<v Speaker 2>that uh. Penta charged Don, who caught him in a
<v Speaker 2>dead eye position and dropped him down for a near fall.
<v Speaker 2>Penta did his hand gesture again, but done grabbed his hand,
<v Speaker 2>put him in a triangle choke, and then Penta powered
<v Speaker 2>up Done for a power bomb pin and used the
<v Speaker 2>sacrifice arm breaker, followed up with a Penta driver. So fine.
<v Speaker 2>You know you're not gonna be as hot as your
<v Speaker 2>first week, No one is, but it's a nice follow
<v Speaker 2>up win. The key is to give Penta some momentum,
<v Speaker 2>and that's what was done here. And as Penta goes
<v Speaker 2>on here, I am curious as to what his end
<v Speaker 2>game is, at least his longer term plan that we
<v Speaker 2>may or may not have for him, because they're going
<v Speaker 2>to have him likely go on this bit of a
<v Speaker 2>winning streak and look good and took out Chad Gable.
<v Speaker 2>Now takes how Pete done he's being put with guys
<v Speaker 2>that he can. You know, his strengths can be showcased
<v Speaker 2>as they should. He's a new talent. You want him
<v Speaker 2>to look as good as possible. So alrighty. A Logan
<v Speaker 2>Paul video package aired. He said it must be it
<v Speaker 2>sucked to be one of his haters, because when he
<v Speaker 2>sets out to do something, he becomes the best at it.
<v Speaker 2>He boasted that he became king of the Internet and
<v Speaker 2>it's the only man to beat Floyd Mayweather. He asked,
<v Speaker 2>what would make you think WWE would be any different?
<v Speaker 2>He said, he will eat, sleep, and breathe wrestling until
<v Speaker 2>he becomes the greatest star to ever enter the ring.
<v Speaker 2>You're looking at the goat ladies and gentlemen, and hey,
<v Speaker 2>I have no issue at this Logan Paul right now
<v Speaker 2>has already. I mean, I don't think he's on his
<v Speaker 2>way to Hall of Fame yet. I mean, let's pump
<v Speaker 2>the brakes. But if he did what he did part time,
<v Speaker 2>imagine what he could do when he's full time. If
<v Speaker 2>he truly he's investing himself, and I do believe he
<v Speaker 2>is full time, the future is incredibly bright for Logan Paul.
<v Speaker 2>The only down I would say that we've already seen
<v Speaker 2>this injury, not that his body is injury prone because
<v Speaker 2>of age or anything like that. It's simply a little
<v Speaker 2>bit of inexperience combined with unnecessary high risk. I know
<v Speaker 2>that's part of his style. I mean, he's given us
<v Speaker 2>a lot of crazy moments. The match with Roman Reigns,
<v Speaker 2>the spot with Ricochet, with the double cross body in
<v Speaker 2>the middle of the ring. That's all fine and well,
<v Speaker 2>but I think injury could be a potential issue for
<v Speaker 2>Logan Paul as his career goes on. All right, So
<v Speaker 2>the broadcast team then listed the following matches at events
<v Speaker 2>for next week's Raw in Atlanta. We do have the
<v Speaker 2>announcement that Logan Paul is going to come back to
<v Speaker 2>Raw next week. The war Raiders, Eric and Ivar are
<v Speaker 2>going to take on Dominic Mysterial and j D McDonough
<v Speaker 2>for the world tag titles, and Cody Roads. You know,
<v Speaker 2>because ratings or whatever this is to my good do
<v Speaker 2>I need to continue to hammer this home? What about
<v Speaker 2>this transfer window? But what happened to that? Are we
<v Speaker 2>not even respecting a transfer window, of which, by the way,
<v Speaker 2>they were very vague, So like, can Cody just come
<v Speaker 2>and go wherever he wants. I thought that PELP was
<v Speaker 2>exclusive to SmackDown. I mean, there's no brands. But guys,
<v Speaker 2>there's just there's no brand. Excuse me, there's no brand split.
<v Speaker 2>None doesn't exist. You can pretend there's one wwe can play,
<v Speaker 2>pretend we can all play dress up, plug our eyes
<v Speaker 2>or plug our ears, close our eyes, and we can
<v Speaker 2>all just kind of, you know, uh, play in the
<v Speaker 2>land of make believe, because that's where you have to
<v Speaker 2>live to believe there's a real brand split. Alrighty, I
<v Speaker 2>mean that no one cares. I'm screaming into the ether.
<v Speaker 2>No one cares, but I do. So see how Punk
<v Speaker 2>comes out, or at least his entrance music played and
<v Speaker 2>he was shown slapping fans hands in the concourse, and
<v Speaker 2>then Cole joined Jackie Redmand for an interview in an
<v Speaker 2>area just inside the concourse, and Redmond said, there are
<v Speaker 2>only so many ways to get to WrestleMania in the
<v Speaker 2>main event anyway, she said, the rumbles one way. But
<v Speaker 2>Punk has never won a rumble and this one's looking
<v Speaker 2>like the most loaded rumble yet. Redman asked what makes
<v Speaker 2>this rumble for Punk any different? And Punk said history.
<v Speaker 2>He spoke about being seth while claiming that Rollins is
<v Speaker 2>a favorite to win. Punk said that the lights will
<v Speaker 2>be bright and the pressure is on, and that's when
<v Speaker 2>he's at his best and the people are when the
<v Speaker 2>people are behind him. Punk said he can't see John
<v Speaker 2>Cena throwing him over the top rope and said Roman
<v Speaker 2>Reigns needed his help to settle a family business. Settle
<v Speaker 2>family business at wargames, and he said there are no
<v Speaker 2>friends in the rumble. He put Drew Mcatyre of the dirt,
<v Speaker 2>but he said not to ask him about Sammy zay
<v Speaker 2>because Zayin isn't on his level. Little diggitt z eight
<v Speaker 2>in there. And then here's where the money quote comes, right,
<v Speaker 2>this is likely the headline you've seen YouTube videos X.
<v Speaker 2>Punk said if they put Hulk Hogan in the rumble,
<v Speaker 2>he'd quote throw Hogan's dusty ass out of the match
<v Speaker 2>and kill Hulkomania forever. So Punk said he's settling scores,
<v Speaker 2>cashing in debts, and calling in favors if he needs to.
<v Speaker 2>He said twenty nine men are going night night and
<v Speaker 2>Coles said McAfee still won't have Punk on his show,
<v Speaker 2>and Punk played to the crowd and chanted his name.
<v Speaker 2>So Punk did encounter some booze here out about it.
<v Speaker 2>I don't think it turned him heal in any way.
<v Speaker 2>It was just kind of a momentary reaction because I
<v Speaker 2>think a lot of people do want to see John
<v Speaker 2>Cena win. They want to see you know, perhaps Roman
<v Speaker 2>Reigns win or maybe The Rock if he's in it.
<v Speaker 2>But the quote here obviously is talking about Hulk Hogan's
<v Speaker 2>dusty ass. I don't know where that came from. Maybe
<v Speaker 2>he's just playing on the fact that Hogan got booed
<v Speaker 2>out of the Raw debut on Netflix two weeks ago,
<v Speaker 2>knowing that most people don't really like Hogan or want
<v Speaker 2>to see him at this stage of his career anymore.
<v Speaker 2>Maybe that's what he's trying to capitalize on. But it
<v Speaker 2>was an interesting quote. And please w W if no
<v Speaker 2>one's getting any ideas, right, no one's getting any smart
<v Speaker 2>alec ideas of hitting Hulk Hogan's music at the world Lebble.
<v Speaker 2>For love of God, let's not even go there. So
<v Speaker 2>we have pure fusion Collective. I have a little segment
<v Speaker 2>here and Eosky Dakota Kai took on Shana Basler and
<v Speaker 2>Zoe Stark that was a good I enjoyed this. I
<v Speaker 2>had to say when I saw Shanea, I go, I
<v Speaker 2>really it was one of those moments I have every
<v Speaker 2>here and there is oh wow, they still work here.
<v Speaker 2>That's what I said about Shana. You're like, oh wow, okay,
<v Speaker 2>she's still here. I actually said that out loud. I'm like, yeah, okay,
<v Speaker 2>that's good. I like Shana. But a fairly quick match
<v Speaker 2>here with Eosky and Dakota Kai beating Shanna Basler and
<v Speaker 2>Zoey Stark in about six and a half minutes. The
<v Speaker 2>finish was Kai avoiding a diving Stark at ringside and
<v Speaker 2>then hit her with a kick from the apron. Basler said,
<v Speaker 2>Kai back to the floor and then put Sky in
<v Speaker 2>the care foot to clutch. Sky jumped through the ropes
<v Speaker 2>feet first to break the hold and it also pulled
<v Speaker 2>Basiler into the ropes and Sky went up top, hit
<v Speaker 2>top top, hit the over the moon salt on Shana
<v Speaker 2>and got the victory. So not the smoothest finish, but
<v Speaker 2>it continues, I guess to build a little bit of
<v Speaker 2>momentum for Yo Ski and to go to Kai, who
<v Speaker 2>could be put back in the women's tag team title picture. Fine,
<v Speaker 2>but again it got some ring time for Shannon Baslo
<v Speaker 2>as always Stark, who desperately need any and all attention
<v Speaker 2>they can get at this point, all right, keep it moving.
<v Speaker 2>So here are the matches for Saturday night's main event.
<v Speaker 2>Again this is not official prediction show yet, but here
<v Speaker 2>are the matches on the card as of right now.
<v Speaker 2>Rear Ripley versus Naya Jacks for the Women's World Championship,
<v Speaker 2>braun Stroman versus Jacob Fatu, braun Breaker versus Seamus for
<v Speaker 2>the Intercontinental Championship, and Sean Michaels presides over the contract
<v Speaker 2>signing between Cody Rhods and Kevin Owens for their ladder
<v Speaker 2>match for the WWE Championship with the Rumble, and Gunther
<v Speaker 2>versus Jay for the World Heavyweight Championship. Gotta say, now
<v Speaker 2>that I say it out loud, the card sounds bigger
<v Speaker 2>than the last Saturday A main event. It sounds bigger.
<v Speaker 2>Do I predict anything crazy, any big returns? No? But
<v Speaker 2>it wouldn't that be the time w W would strike.
<v Speaker 2>I'd strike when the fans aren't predicting it. Not that
<v Speaker 2>I'm the representation of all fans, but might you get
<v Speaker 2>my point.
<v Speaker 1>All right.
<v Speaker 2>We then had Jamacatarre and Seth Rollins in the main
<v Speaker 2>event seventeen minutes. Seth Rollins wins Uh and the ending
<v Speaker 2>here again kind of mimics an earlier women's match. But again,
<v Speaker 2>I've got nothing bad to say about this match. Nothing.
<v Speaker 2>These two are just pros pros. I say that a lot,
<v Speaker 2>but you know, when you've got talent of this caliber,
<v Speaker 2>what more can you say? I mean, you really have
<v Speaker 2>to just go to the finish on this because that's
<v Speaker 2>really what matters. Not to discount everything done during the match,
<v Speaker 2>some of the fun near falls, all of that is
<v Speaker 2>a lot of fun, and having the commentators tell the
<v Speaker 2>story about these two in the history of these two
<v Speaker 2>and that Dan Day are two grizzled vets, no doubt
<v Speaker 2>about it. But the finish here is Rollins countering out
<v Speaker 2>of a closed line and rolling up McIntyre for a
<v Speaker 2>three count. After the match, McIntyre immediately started hammering on Seth,
<v Speaker 2>hit him with the claymore and McIntyre pulled Rollin's head
<v Speaker 2>against the ring post and Sammy comes out makes the save,
<v Speaker 2>and then he attacked McIntyre hit him of the Glasgow
<v Speaker 2>Kiss though and Zane went for the Halluva kick and
<v Speaker 2>it hit Rollins. So Rollin's. If you're looking for more
<v Speaker 2>evidence of a potential heel turn for Rawlins, this could
<v Speaker 2>be it. Yes, he got the victory over Drew, but
<v Speaker 2>one of the guys that he you know, another big
<v Speaker 2>baby face on the roster, accidentally hits you. Is that
<v Speaker 2>going to send you over the edge? I keep waiting
<v Speaker 2>for Seth to turn. I mean, please, I think it's
<v Speaker 2>a it's a good a net positive for everybody, not
<v Speaker 2>just him, but a new fresh opponent. Seth's been a
<v Speaker 2>baby face since what twenty nineteen, It's time twenty twenty,
<v Speaker 2>all right, So good episode of Raw here, no doubt.
<v Speaker 2>I mean one that didn't feel as corporate as the
<v Speaker 2>last couple did. It had a lot of wrestling in it.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, well, I shouldn't say a lot. I mean
<v Speaker 2>five matches in three two and a half hours is
<v Speaker 2>you know it's it's better than you know, what they
<v Speaker 2>did at the first episode of Raw, which is like
<v Speaker 2>three or four matches but still a lot of filler.
<v Speaker 2>Raw continues to have the identity of the entertainment ty
<v Speaker 2>show and SmackDown. I mean SmackDown is more wrestling, but
<v Speaker 2>WW as a whole, I think is transitioning to less wrestling,
<v Speaker 2>more entertainment, more backstage skits and things like that, which,
<v Speaker 2>when it's done well, is fun. But the you know,
<v Speaker 2>the main core of the show should be wrestling in
<v Speaker 2>their ring, cutting good promos. I mean, that's honestly, in
<v Speaker 2>my mind what w W should be doing. But what
<v Speaker 2>the hell do I know? They continue to evolve based
<v Speaker 2>on what the market and the fans want, and right
<v Speaker 2>now they're doing what they feel is going to make
<v Speaker 2>them the most money and be the most successful moving forward.
<v Speaker 2>So all right, well, guys, I was going to go
<v Speaker 2>for another five to ten minutes here, but my voice
<v Speaker 2>I keep having to I mean, you're not hearing it,
<v Speaker 2>but I keep having to stop the show. My voice
<v Speaker 2>is just not ready. It sounds a little bitt than
<v Speaker 2>the other day, but it's starting to give out. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>I'm coughing every five seconds here. Again, You're you're not
<v Speaker 2>privy to it. Because I'm nice and professional. I don't
<v Speaker 2>want you to hear my coughing and everything else. So
<v Speaker 2>I will leave it there, you know, and give you
<v Speaker 2>guys a little bit more later this week with an
<v Speaker 2>mailbag show and the preview and prediction show for Saturday
<v Speaker 2>nights main event, which, as I said, I'm pleasantly surprised
<v Speaker 2>as I read it out loud what the card is.
<v Speaker 2>Pleasantly surprised, I really am, because yeah, I didn't remember
<v Speaker 2>a couple of the matches sewn. Michael's deal is interesting.
<v Speaker 2>I don't know the purpose of that. I hope it's
<v Speaker 2>not to get sewn back in the ring. I'm always
<v Speaker 2>fearful of that. I don't mind a you know, sweetch
<v Speaker 2>in music every now and then, but anyway, I'll leave
<v Speaker 2>it there. I'm on the brink here, So thank you
<v Speaker 2>everybody for watching and listening. If you want to go
<v Speaker 2>add freepatreon dot com slash WW podcast, or go to
<v Speaker 2>the Apple or Spotify ad free subscription links and go
<v Speaker 2>add free there, or follow me on x at Wrestling Audio,
<v Speaker 2>which is just the WW podcast if you search it.
<v Speaker 2>So I appreciate everybody's support. Hopefully the next time you
<v Speaker 2>hear me, things will be back and rolling normally and
<v Speaker 2>we can move on with the sicknesses. Hope everybody's staying
<v Speaker 2>healthy as well and staying warm. I know it's snowing
<v Speaker 2>down there down in Florida, down in New Orleans. Stuff
<v Speaker 2>in New Orleans. Actually New Orleans had a bigger snowstorm
<v Speaker 2>then we have up in upstate New York. All year
<v Speaker 2>they had not total snow, but in a single storm
<v Speaker 2>they had like eight or nine inches. Our biggest storm
<v Speaker 2>is like three or four or five inches. Like, what
<v Speaker 2>the hell is going on? I don't know. Maybe everybody
<v Speaker 2>can start really just you know, keeping their cars an
<v Speaker 2>idle or making sure that you don't take public transportation
<v Speaker 2>in and that you put as many fossil fuels in
<v Speaker 2>the air as possible so that the weather can be
<v Speaker 2>get a little more extreme. You can get bigger snowstorms
<v Speaker 2>up here. So I'm counting on everybody. Any you know,
<v Speaker 2>fossil fueled engine use it. I want the most greenhouse
<v Speaker 2>gas effect. That's to maximize it. That's what we need.
<v Speaker 2>All right, Thanks everybody. I'll talk to you guys next time.
<v Speaker 2>So take care.
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the WWE podcast. Don't forget to
<v Speaker 1>subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss
<v Speaker 1>a show, or head to WWE podcast dot com and
<v Speaker 1>for all of these shows add free head over to
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<v Speaker 1>you next time.